Indonesian embassy officials rebooted the Davao-Manado connectivity in a bid to boost trade and investment.
In a webinar entitled “Enhancing Manado-Davao City Connectivity for Sustainable Economic Interaction and Mutually Beneficial for the Two Countries” last November 9, 2020, the embassy officials of Indonesia recommended for the creation of connectivity forum that involves all stakeholders and the forum is expected to have regularly scheduled meetings, provide action plans and recommendations for implementation times to realize increased trade through connectivity of the Davao City-Manado route via air or sea.
Indonesia Consul General in Davao City Dicky Fabrian said the air connectivity will offer easier access for Filipinos to visit North Sulawesi and various Indonesia destinations and vice versa.
“It will give more interactions of people from both countries in business sectors, academe, students, sports etc. that could boost trade, investment, tourism, and socio-cultural activities,” Fabrian said in an email interview.
The last time this route was available was in May 2007 and was revived last year expecting to further boost investment and tourism activities between Mindanao and North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Davao-Manado route is being serviced by the Indonesian Carrier Garuda Indonesia, was offering direct and easy travel to attract investment exploration, tourist visits between the two areas.
Fabrian said due to the pandemic and travel restrictions in both countries, Garuda Indonesia couldn’t serve the Davao – Manado route since last March.
“We hope after the pandemic, airlines from both countries could continue to serve the route,” he said.
He said the North Sulawesi Chamber is trying to pursue one of Indonesian Airlines to serve air cargo to make guarantee that there will be both export and import activities from both region.
Fabrian added that there will be an upcoming webinar to be participated by the Davao Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., (DCCCII) and North Sulawesi Chamber within this month to discuss about potential products of both countries that will utilize the air cargo so to make the service sustainable.
For the sea connectivity, Fabrian said it will save time because Bitung-Davao shipping only takes two to three days, compared to the previous route, Bitung-Surabaya / Jakarta-Manila-Davao which will take at least five weeks.
“We hope that the price will be cheaper this time,” he said.
An Indonesian-flagged boat Gloria 28, which has a capacity of 256 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), has started plying the Davao-Manado route as an alternative to the Davao-General Santos-Bitung service that has been put on hold for lack of demand in August 2017, months after it was launched in April of the same year and up to present there are no schedules of Davao-Manado shipping routes by Gloria 28.
Meanwhile, the webinar was conducted aiming to socialize the efforts that need to be made to take advantage of the growing potential of Indonesia-Philippines connectivity. This in turn will create a more sustainable and mutually beneficial economic environment for the two countries; strengthen networking among Indonesian stakeholders; and formin a communication forum which is expected to be held regularly online to solve problems that occur in the field.
Aside from Fabrian, the webinar was also participated by Widya Rahmanto, deputy chief of Mission Indonesian Embassy in Manila; Agung Tri Prasetyo, head of public relation and foreign cooperation bureau of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries; Agung R. Kurnianto, head of Customs and Excise in Bitung Port; Drh. Donni Muksydayan, head of Agricultural Quarantine of Manado; and Noldy Tuerah, Academe, talked about Opportunities and Challenges of Davao-Manado.
Trade mapping of highly potential products from both regions to increase the load factor was recommended as there will be potential export-import activities from other cities in Eastern Indonesia such as Makassar, Ternate, Sorong, etc. that could use Manado/Bitung as a hub for exporting to Philippines.
Also information exchange on the list of products of each region and the regulations that apply in both regions – clearly outlining which products are/are not permitted entry into the respective territories and technical knowledge for import-export, for instance by providing technical guidance and operational guidelines.
The activity also recommended assessing necessary facilities to be provided in order to bolster business connectivity these include but are not limited to: ship provisioning, customs relief, quarantine policy relief, port facility discounts, and specific price for certain fuel types.
Prioritizing private sector participation and business connectivity through promotion activities in both regions and series of coordinative meetings are needed, each of which will involve relevant stakeholders, namely the local government and managers of border issues (ports, customs, immigration, quarantine, and coastguards), business actors, tourism activists, industrial area managers, higher education institutions, and health institutions were also suggested.
