Batam sees rosy shipyard business

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

The Transportation Ministry has said Batam Island in Riau province has the potential to cash in as a center for the shipyard industry, especially given the high cost of building and repairing ships in Europe and elsewhere in Asia.

Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said Friday Batam's shipyard industry had three advantages over other shipyard centers both here and abroad.

Batam has skilled workers and the technology to produce ships at competitive prices, he said at the launching of the MV United Ocean coal ship produced by PT Trikarya Alam Shipyard in Batam.

"We also see the shipyard business in European and other Asian countries is declining due to high operational costs.

"Batam (can seize the opportunity), taking over ship-making orders...."

To support the development of Batam's shipyard industry, Jusman said his ministry would work to ease permit procedures.

"We are very happy when a ship is built by Indonesians, flies the Indonesian flag and is operated in Indonesia. Batam has a great opportunity to be able to do that," he added.

He said his office was meeting with shipyard businessmen in Batam to better understand the obstacles the industry faces related to his ministry's authority.

"Many in the industry complain the permit process is too slow. We plan to ease permit procedures in the future to help the industry here develop," Jusman said.

Riau Governor Ismeth Abdullah said his administration planned to set up a taskforce to deal with shipyard-related problems.

The move would help the booming industry, especially in Batam, Bintan and Karimun islands, he said.

He added the taskforce would be directly supervised by the transportation minister, and if a problem was serious enough it could be reported directly to the President.

Some 80 shipyard companies operate in Batam, Bintan and Karimun islands with a total investment of around US$1 billion.

Sixty-one companies are located in Batam, 15 in Bintan and four in Karimun.

"Civil servants trying to blackmail or otherwise hinder the industry's growth in Batam, Bintan or Karimun will be fired," Ismeth said.

According to the Batam Shipyard Offshore Association, the three islands were a preferred relocation site for shipyard businesses from Singapore.

Singapore reportedly plans to restrict the expansion of its shipyard industry due to environmental considerations.

The association's secretary, Kusmareni, said one of the problems faced by shipyard companies in Batam was accusations by non-government organizations the industry damages the environment.

"The accusations turn us into an target, being asked for money by a local NGO under allegations of damaging the environment. We want the local government to pay attention to the problem," she said.