Author: Web Desk

The Communication and Informatics Ministry has readied a media center for journalists covering the G20 Summit Conference in Bali in November.

“The media center will be in operation from November 13 to November 17, 2022,” Public Information and Communication Director General at the ministry Usman Kansong noted during a webinar on the G20 Summit coverage mechanism, Monday.

G20 is an international forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union that work together to handle major issues. Indonesia is holding the presidency of the grouping this year.

The G20 Summit Media Center that the ministry prepared is located at the Westin Resort & BICC, Nusa Dua, Bali. This room can be occupied by 1,500 journalists, both domestic and overseas.

The media center is equipped with 96 computers connected to the LAN internet network that offers a speed of 1.5 gigabytes per second.

Other facilities comprise a press conference room, with a capacity to occupy 443 people, interpreters with five languages, break room, and photocopy facility.

The ministry, as the one tasked with public communication, will give a press statement in two languages, English and Indonesia, and clean feed photo and video that can be used by television stations for broadcast content.

“We also prepare the press statement, bulletin, and press briefing, so that the media can easily obtain (information),” Kansong stated.

In addition to work room for reporters, the ministry provides transportation facility in the form of shuttle bus service from outside the conference area to the G20 Summit media center.

Journalists, both domestic and overseas, who seek to cover the G20 Summit in Bali in November 15-17, can register on the official G20 website. The registration is open from September 5 to October 10, 2022.

After they are registered, journalists can obtain the G20 Summit special coverage card at the Courtyard Bali Seminyak Resort, Badung, Bali. An antigen swab test result will be necessitated by the ministry during the coverage card retrieval.

As per Tuesday, the ministry recorded that 750 journalists from 156 media had already registered to cover the G20 Summit in Bali.

These journalists comprise 203 from 45 national media outlets and 547 journalists from 111 foreign media outlets.

 

Source: Antara News

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi supports efforts for Kualanamu International Airport, Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, to function as a flight hub to the ASEAN and South Asia to seize opportunities in increasing passengers and cargo.

“Of course, becoming a connecting airport must be seized as an opportunity by collaborating with all stakeholders,” Sumadi noted during the conclusion of the National Seminar on Kualanamu as an International Liaison in ASEAN: Challenges and Realizations through Zoom here on Tuesday.

The minister opined that since some normalcy was observed in the current situation after the COVID-19 pandemic had struck, it was the right time for Kualanamu to function as a hub for international flights, and this opportunity must be seized promptly by involving all stakeholders.

This measure could contribute to economic growth at both the regional and national scales, given that several areas, such as tourism, would be benefited. “When it becomes a connecting airport, it will attract more domestic and international tourists,” Sumadi stated.

He opined that the Kualanamu International Airport was strategically positioned to connect to the ASEAN and South Asian regions, which in fact could be optimized to work on.

“By becoming an international hub, it can not only increase the number of passengers but also cargo in the Asian region,” he noted.

He expects Angkasa Pura Aviation, as the manager of Kualanamu International Airport, to pursue and enhance collaboration with all stakeholders in the aviation sector in order to realize that goal.

President Director of PT Angkasa Pura Aviation Ahmad Rifai said the total number of passengers visiting North Sumatra via the Kualanamu International Airport reached 16 to 18 thousand per day, and this figure was still far below the recorded arrival from before the pandemic, which was capped at some 24 to 25 thousand passengers per day.

Rifai noted that this year, Kualanamu Airport aimed at providing a direct flight route to one of the countries in South Asia, which was India. He said PT Angkasa Pura Aviation had also spoken with several airlines to provide direct routes to India.

“The principle is reciprocity. If they are willing to offer direct flights to Kualanamu, then the Indonesian airlines will also offer direct flights to India,” he elaborated.

 

Source: Antara News

The aviation industry, which has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, is starting to bounce back, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the Transportation Ministry has said.

“The pandemic had caused significant harm in the aviation industry, including the decreased number of passengers and cargo. Now, the industry has bounced back,” the ministry’s acting Director General of Civil Aviation Nur Isnin Istiartono said here on Tuesday.

According to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global aviation industry has started to show improvement.

In June 2022, domestic and international flight traffic reached an average of 70 percent compared to the pre-pandemic period in 2019, he informed.

Specifically, domestic flight traffic reached 81 percent and international flight traffic reached 65 percent.

According to him, the decline in passengers during the pandemic took place in line with restrictions on community mobility, which were aimed at maintaining the health protocols. The pandemic led a number of airlines to reduce their fleet and close routes to reduce operational costs.

For example, before the pandemic, Kertajati Airport in Majalengka district, West Java, was operating several flights that had to be closed due to the pandemic. During the pandemic, the airport only served cargo flights, Istiartono disclosed.

“Starting November, Kertajati Airport is ready to serve commercial flights and Umrah flights as well,” he added.

He further informed that the directorate general will continue to strive to help airlines re-open flight routes to and from Kertajati Airport.

Further, the plan for the operationalization of the Cisumdawu (Cileunyi-Sumedang-Dawuan) toll road in October 2022 will greatly assist in faster recovery at Kertajati Airport since the toll road cuts travel time from Bandung to Kertajati Airport to just one hour.

Meanwhile, Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta has also started serving commercial flights following its revitalization, which was aimed at maintaining flight safety and preparing for the Indonesian G20 Presidency’s events.

Several small airports in Java are also starting to recover, including Ngloram Airport in Blora, General Sudirman Airport in Purbalingga, and Wiriadinata Airport in Tasikmalaya.

Istiartono said that it will take time for the aviation sector to return to its pre-pandemic state, as currently, the number of aircraft is still very limited.

Currently, the number of ready-to-operate aircraft is only 55 percent to 60 percent of the number in 2019, that is, before the pandemic struck, he added.

Nevertheless, Istiartono said he is confident that with good cooperation and collaboration between the relevant ministries and institutions and the involvement of local governments and aviation stakeholders, the recovery effort will run well.

“We continue to recover the aviation sector. We want the airport to be busy again with more routes to open. Let us make it happen,” he emphasized.

 

Source: Antara News

The Cibitung-Cilincing toll road will help relieve congestion of traffic moving to and from the Tanjung Priok Port, Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi has said.

“If later, the toll road access to the Kalibaru Port will also be done, it is hoped that it will reduce logistics costs by up to 50 percent,” the minister said here on Tuesday.

The government is carrying out infrastructure development consistently and systematically, he added.

According to Sumadi, the development has been carried out well, right from the starting stage, the building phase, completing of infrastructure, to the connecting of facilities (for example, the connecting of the industrial area with the port).

The Cibitung-Cilincing toll road would boost the competitiveness of domestic products and thereby, increase interest among domestic and foreign investors in investing in the industrial area of Bekasi, Karawang, and surrounding areas, he said.

In addition, the construction of the toll road access to and from Patimban Port, Subang, West Java, which is targeted to be completed in 2024, will also improve the port’s performance.

The presence of Patimban Port will complement the existence of Tanjung Priok Port and facilitate the distribution of national logistics.

“Industrial areas in Bekasi can use Tanjung Priok Port and industrial areas in Karawang can use Patimban Port. This will create good competition and will further improve the services of the two ports,” he said.

The Cibitung-Cilincing toll road has been built and is operated by PT Cibitung Tanjung Priok Tollways (PT CTP), which is owned by PT Access Pelabuhan Indonesia and PT Menara Maritim Indonesia.

The two companies are subsidiaries of PT Pelindo Solusi Logistik (SPSL), which is a PT Pelindo sub-holding engaged in logistics and hinterland development.

The direct involvement of PT Pelindo, which also manages Tanjung Priok Port, is expected to further improve services for container trucks and goods moving from and to the port.

President Joko Widodo inaugurated the 27.2-km Cibitung-Cilincing toll road on Tuesday (September 20, 2022).

The road is part of the toll road construction project on the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) 2, which is expected to further support the flow of goods and logistics from industrial estates in Bekasi, Karawang, and surrounding areas to Tanjung Priok Port and vice versa.

The President also inaugurated the Serpong-Balaraja Toll Road Section 1A along a 5.1-km stretch that is part of JORR 3.

After JORR 2 and JORR 3 have been fully completed and have connected areas in the west and east of Jakarta, passing vehicles will no longer need to ply through the middle of Jakarta, and this will help reduce congestion in DKI Jakarta.

 

Source: Antara News

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) received the Global Citizen Award for his global leadership from an American think tank at a ceremony in New York on Monday.

In his remarks, which were conveyed through a video message at the ceremony, he dedicated the award to all the people of Indonesia.

“President Joko Widodo is the embodiment of the spirit which Indonesia wants to promote to the world, namely the spirit of collaboration, building the (communication) bridge, as well as being part of solutions (for overcoming global issues),” Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, who received the award on behalf of the President, said, according to a statement issued on Tuesday.

Widodo received the award for his leadership as the chair of the 2022 G20 Presidency, efforts to bridge communication between Ukraine and Russia, and support for advancing the global health architecture, fulfillment of human rights, and the implementation of democracy.

The Global Citizen Award is an annual event held by the American think tank, the Atlantic Council, and this year, it has been organized on the sidelines of the implementation of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In the past, the award was presented to a number of figures who were considered to have made concrete contributions to the international community: the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

“It is an honor for me to introduce President Joko Widodo. Starting his career as a businessman, then becoming the Mayor of Surakarta (Solo city in Central Java province), President Joko Widodo got into politics to serve the people (and) work with the people,” executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Klaus Schwab, remarked.

Indonesia is holding the G20 Presidency at a time when the world is facing multidimensional challenges, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and global supply chain disruptions, hence the presidency requires an extraordinary leader, he said.

“President Jokowi is not only a leader for the Indonesian people, but also a leader who has a global vision who promotes world peace and prosperity,” he added.

In addition to Widodo, the 2022 Global Citizen Award was also presented to Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, chief executive officer of (CEO) Alphabet Inc. and Google, Sundar Pichai, as well as actor and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) special envoy for peace and reconciliation, Forest Whitaker.

 

Source: Antara News