TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta government secretary Saefullah said the Jakarta Administration has dropped the plan of state-owned PT Kawasan Berikat Nusantara (KBN), the operator of the industrial bonded zone in North Jakarta, to build the Marunda Port.

Saefullah said they had met with the KBN regarding the cancellation of the project.

"We have already planned a reclamation program in the north part of Jakarta and we are going to set up 17 islands. KBN's plan is disrupting our plan to build Pulau O," he told reporters in Jakarta on Monday.

He said that 20 hectares out of 400-hectare area that would be acquired by KBN for the Marunda Port project was part of the Jakarta government's reclamation area.

"We are going to talk about their plan again because the port will give income to Jakarta," he said as quoted by Antara News.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said he was trying to find a solution so that the port project could continue because the current Tanjung Priok Port had been operating over its capacity.

"According to pak governor [Joko “Jokowi” Widodo], if we look at it from the spatial plan regulation side, the port project is violating the regulation, but he says we need to look for a new way to construct it. We cannot hamper KBN from constructing the port," Ahok said.

He also hoped that the port development project would not be monopolized by one company.

"We cannot let [state-run port operator] Pelindo monopolize the business. If they are not making efficiencies in ports they already manage, we are going to lag behind other countries. Jakarta should always be the best place for ports," he added.

ANTARA