President Widodo To Launch Davao-Gensan-Bitung Sea Route

JAKARTA, April 26 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo is scheduled to launch the Davao City-General Santos City-Bitung sea route in Davao City, the Philippines, on Sunday, April 30. "There will be a joint declaration on the establishment of sea connectivity on the Davao-General Santos-Bitung route," Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arrmanatha Nasir stated here during a press briefing on Tuesday. President Widodo will pay a state visit to the Philippines on April 28 and attended the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Manila on the following day. On Sunday, President Widodo will launch the Davao-General Santos-Bitung sea route in Davao City before departing for Hong Kong. A roll-on/roll-off, or Roro, vessel of 500 twenty-foot equivalent units will be used for the Davao-General Santos-Bitung sea trade route. The sea trade route is viewed to provide a cheaper and shorter alternative way to reach Indonesia. The new route is expected to reduce sea travel time from five days via Manila to around 2.5 days with the new route, Nasir remarked. Statistics reveal that the trade volume between Indonesia and the Philippines has increased from US$4.6 billion in 2015 to $6.1 billion, or a raise of 32 percent. The new sea route is expected to boost trade and ease the transport of goods and other cargo between the two countries.