A barge crosses Davao Gulf from Sasa Wharf in Davao City. Photo credit: iStock/yullz.
The Indonesian Consulate in Davao City organized a meeting of stakeholders last month to discuss the revival of the Davao–General Santos–Bitung sea route and how to make transport services sustainable. Held at the House of Indonesia in Davao City on 20 February, the focus group discussion renewed the collaboration between governments, private sector, and regional partners.
The meeting focused on strengthening trade corridors and revitalizing maritime connectivity within the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), said the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), the Philippine Coordinating Office for BIMP-EAGA. They are working on “solutions to longstanding barriers, including increasing cargo demand, optimizing vessel operations, and aligning policies to encourage private sector participation.”
In his message delivered by Deputy Executive Director Romeo Montenegro at the meeting, MinDA Chairperson Secretary Leo Tereso Magno said: "This initiative complements the goals of BIMP-EAGA Vision 2025, which seeks to enhance connectivity and seamless trade within the subregion and the rest of ASEAN."
Indonesian Consul General Agus Trenggono said "Through today’s discussions, we aim to identify key policy interventions, increase cargo volume, and attract investments that will make this route a viable and competitive trade option in the region."
Connecting the islands
BIMP-EAGA was established to spur development in remote and less developed areas. One of its objectives is to improve sea connectivity among member countries to boost trade and investment in the subregion.
A 2013 master plan drawn up by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on an ASEAN roll-on/roll-off (RORO) network identified the Davao–General Santos–Bitung route among three priority routes. The network also includes the Dumai (Indonesia)–Malacca (Malaysia) and the Belawan (Indonesia)–Penang (Malaysia)–Phuket (Thailand) shipping routes.
According to the JICA study, the Davao–General Santos–Bitung route has the potential to bolster cargo and passenger traffic across the route and boost local economies. Regular shipping services could increase employment and incomes, and strengthen historical trade ties between Mindanao and North Sulawesi. The route is part of a waterway that connects the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas.
Slow take-up
A RORO shipping service between Davao City and General Santos City in Mindanao and Bitung City in North Sulawesi was launched in 2017. The route offered an alternative to the Manila–Bitung route with shorter travel times at a lower cost. However, the service was discontinued after 2 years because of low cargo volumes and vessel capacity limitations.
Another shipping company started a trial run on the route in 2019 but plans to launch the service in 2020 did not push through. Despite setbacks, MinDA said it continued efforts to revive the route through market studies, trade missions, and policy enhancements. It sees the route as strategic, especially with Indonesia's plan to relocate its capital to Nusantara in East Kalimantan, which is part of the BIMP-EAGA subregion.
There are also plans to bring back flight services between Davao City and Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi. Last year, Indonesian airline TransNusa and Philippine carrier Leading Edge Air Services Corporation (LEASCOR) expressed interest in serving the route.