The Transportation Ministry is mulling a letter from port operator Pelindo II requesting an increase in port fees, which could potentially hurt the competitiveness of exports.
The ministry's dredging project and port operation director Adolf Tambunan said that Pelindo II had proposed a 10 percent increase in the loading-unloading tariff for international container handling charges (CHC) at the country's main port Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, reported The Jakarta Post.
The last port tariff increase was in 2008.
"Pelindo II submitted a letter to the ministry in April regarding their plan to increase the tariff," Adolf said.
"The minister replied to the letter on May 6, saying that it was not the right time to increase the tariff. We were given 30 days to determine whether the tariff should be increased," he continued.
The ministry is currently evaluating the performance
The evaluation, which is expected to be completed by June, is based on whether or not Pelindo II had been operating under the ministry's minimum standard of operation, according to Adolf.
As a regulator, he added, the ministry would firstly evaluate the port's performance over the last three years, including vessel waiting time, pilotage service time and worker productivity.
Pelindo II currently imposes a terminal handling charge (THC) of US$95 for 20-ft containers, which comprises $83 CHC and $12 surcharge. With an increase of 10 percent, the CHC would be $91.30. As for 40-ft containers, the current THC is $145, which is comprised of $124 CHC and a $21 surcharge.
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