TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Government has decided to cancel the construction of a port in Cilamaya in Karawang Regency, West Java. Instead, the government is planning to move the planned port eastwards - closer to Subang or Indramayu.

"We concluded that we need to proceed with the construction of a port in the area - however, the location needs to shifted to other areas east of Cilamaya, as shipping lanes in the area would be clear of any supporting infrastructures that juts out of the landmass, as well as oil rigs," said Vice President Jusuf Kalla, after inspecting the site of the proposed port in Cilamaya at Tanjungjaya Village in the regency of Karawang on Thursday, April 2, 2015.

The Vice President's entourage includes the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sofyan Djalil, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Indroyono Susilo, Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan, Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning and the Head of the National Development Planning Board (BAPPENAS) Andrinof Chaniago, Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Sudirman Said, West Java's Deputy Governor Deddy Mizwar, and the acting Regent of Karawang, Cellica Nurrachadiana.

It is known that the decision was taken after a briefing at Tanjungjaya's Village Chief's Office.

Kalla stressed that the rationale behind the move is one of safety and efficiency - shipping activities would be safer and faster when there are no oil rigs to weasel through - as well as to ensure that the increased shipping activity would not disrupt the production activities at Pertamina's oil rigs in the area.

"A port requires a high degree of security - but an oil-and-gas rig would require an even higher of safety measures. The move is done to ensure the efficiency of shipping activities, all the while protecting the rigs to ensure that Pertamina could meet Indonesia's domestic energy demands," said Kalla.

It is known that Pertamina has lodged a formal complaint over the proposed construction of a port in Cilamaya, out of fear frequent disruption to its' oil and gas extractions off the coast of the proposed site.

As such, Kalla explained that the port will be moved eastwards - closer to Subang and Indramayu - which remains relatively free of oil-and-gas pipelines, as well as offshore rigs. "It will be safer if we move the port eastwards between Subang and Indramayu - where there exist a 10 kilometers corridor that is free from both rigs and/or pipelines," he said.

It is known that the government had initially decided to construct a port in Cilamaya - a project valued at Rp34,5 trillion - to support Jakarta's Tanjung Priok Port, which is suffering from over-capacity and could not be expanded due to site limitations.

ANTARANEWS