A new and shorter sea route from the Philippines to Indonesia will start in April to enhance connectivity and boost international trade between the two countries, the Transportation Department said Tuesday.
The department said with the new Davao City–General Santos–Bitung, Indonesia shipping route, ferrying goods would only take three days compared with the current three to five weeks shipping time via the Manila–Bitung route.
Apart from being more time-efficient, the new route is also cheaper with savings estimated to about $1,500 (P75,000) per twenty-foot equivalent unit, creating 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,” said Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.
The maiden voyage will be held in Davao on April 28 to be led by President Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Asian Marine Transport Corp. will initially provide a weekly shipping schedule with a vessel capacity of 100 TEUs. Moving forward and in order to sustain the expected growth in demand in this route, other vessel operators are foreseen to show interest in plying the route.
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 known for rich marine life, will import coconut, copra, corn, high value crops, soya products, coffee beans, sugar, cement and charcoal.
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.