The winning operator of Patimban Port – PT Pelabuhan Patimban Internasional (PPI) – marks its first step in this Indonesia’s new gateway with large numbers of car export shipment. Soon after the official handover on Friday, December 17, 2021, Patimban Port reached a new milestone by delivering its first major export shipment comprising 1,209 cars to the Philippines.
Before handed over to PPI, Patimban Port was operated by State Port Operator PT Pelindo III (Pelindo). But, beginning Friday, December 17, 2021, soon after the handover ceremony, the port would be handled jointly by Pelabuhan Patimban International (PPI) and Toyota Tshusho Corporation, the trading arm of Japanese auto giant Toyota Corporation.
“It symbolizes cooperation between Indonesia and Japan. The collaboration between PPI and Toyota Tshusho is expected to make services in vehicles exports and imports better and more competitive in the future,” Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said during the handover ceremony.
Budi said the new export and import gateway will help boost Indonesia’s competitiveness in the logistics industry at the regional level and make Indonesia one of the biggest vehicle export bases in Asia.
Located around 140 kilometers east of Jakarta, Patimban Port is an alternative to the country’s most crowded Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta. It provides easier access to major vehicle and auto parts manufacturers which are mostly based in the neighboring districts of Bekasi and Karawang.
The government aims to have a new industrial hub and urban living in Patimban and surrounding districts and the port alone is expected to create 4.3 million jobs within the next 15 years. West Java is the country’s most populous province.
When the president inaugurated Patimban Port on December 20, 2020, his government revealed that the construction cost is about $3 billion. The inaugural export shipment at that time comprised 140 Toyota and Daihatsu cars bound for Brunei Darussalam.
The government said it will take until 2027 to complete the industrial hub in Patimban while a toll road heading to the new port is targeted to complete in 2023.