State port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo II) will build two new ports next year and upgrade Cirebon Port in West Java. The new ports will be in Sorong, West Papua, and in Kijing, West Kalimantan.

Pelindo II currently manages 12 ports in 10 provinces.

Kijing will be a 1m teu boxport plus it will have facilities to handle up to 6.3m tons of palm oil a year. On top of that it will handle bauxite. Sorong, meanwhile, will have a capacity of 15m tons a year.

Cirebon will be upgraded so that it can handle a further 10m tons a year.

The current Indonesian government has placed great emphasis on building up port infrastructure to develop a maritime highway across the giant archipelago.