TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Launched by the government of Joko Widodo in November 2015, the sea toll program still entails dilemmas. One of them is that cargo volumes are not yet balanced between Java and eastern Indonesian regions. Freight from the eastern zone can only fill 20 percent of ship capacities.

Conversely, according to Presda, sea toll vessels are always fully loaded when sailing from Tanjung Perak in Surabaya. They carry cargos ranging from rice, wheat flour, cooking oil to cement. "Now the freight from Java is crammed for Christmas and New Year preparations in the eastern zone." He understands the situation in practice because out of the 13 sea toll shipping routes, seven starts from Surabaya.

The government realizes this dilemma. Therefore, it is studying products from eastern Indonesia that can become commodities of trade. "We’re promoting what can be produced in the east to be shipped to the west," said Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi on Tuesday two weeks ago in his office.

This effort, however, is a demanding one. Budi predicts it will take three to five years to achieve the government’s goal.

Since Jokowi was elected president in 2014, the sea toll has been one of his major programs. He even mentioned it as he was about to be inaugurated on October 20, 2014. At the time, Jokowi estimated the budget for building the sea toll shipping system extending from Sabang to Merauke at Rp60 trillion.

Read the full article in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine