A new shipping route between the Philippines and Indonesia will be opened next quarter to trim down the time of transporting goods between the two countries by more than 90 percent.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said the Davao City-General Santos-Bitung, Indonesia route will be opened on April 28. It will reduce shipping time to three days from three to five weeks.
Apart from being more time-efficient, the new route is also cheaper, with savings estimated to about $1,500 per twenty-foot equivalent unit, generating revenue for local businessmen and the government.
“Having a shipping route such as this is crucial for any maritime region. Sea linkage will strengthen our economies and our partnerships in other areas of development. And it will also improve the quality of life of our people, because local businessmen and traders will directly benefit from this,” Tugade said.
The new route is one of the three Asean Roll-on, Roll-Off priority routes identified in a feasibility study of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
The new route will be operated by Asian Marine Transport Corp., which will offer a vessel capacity of 100 TEUs per week.
The route, however, will also be opened to other vessel operators to sustain the expected growth in demand.
Mindanao products, such as fresh fruits, poultry, meat, coffee blends, fishing supplies and synthetics, were identified for export to Indonesia.
Bitung, a city on the northern coast of Sulawesi, will import coconut, copra, corn, high-value crops, soya products, coffee beans, sugar, cement, and charcoal.
Tugade said the opening of a shorter sea linkage is expected to strengthen trade relations between the Philippines and Indonesia, “as well as stimulate other areas of developments, such as foreign investments and tourism.”
It is also seen to contribute greatly to the development of the Mindanao region.