Editorial photo #11084871 Economy, Business and Finance

The Indonesian Downstreaming Economic Path

Immanuel Zebua, the 39-year-old Senior Officer of Health, Safety, Security & Environment (HSSE) at PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) Belawan Multipurpose Terminal, is displaying the Silk Road maps while posing for a portrait at the Multipurpose Terminal in Belawan, Medan City, North Sumatra, Indonesia, on March 18, 2024. Continuing to serve a vital function in trade routes from the Malacca Strait to the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean), the Belawan port also connects the West and East regions along the 'Silk Road'. According to Pelindo's annual report for 2021-2022, the Indonesian port company has seen an increase in container flow, with 17.22 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) recorded in 2022, up from 17.06 million TEUs in 2021 and 15.67 million TEUs in 2020 before the merger. Similarly, the flow of non-container goods has shown positive performance, with 160 million tonnes in 2022 compared to 146.2 million tonnes in 2021 and 133.8 million tonnes in 2020. This growth aligns with Indonesia's economic expansion, as reflected in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which has been showing a positive trend, especially in the post-Covid-19 pandemic period, with an increase of 5.31 percent in 2022 and 3.70 percent in 2021. (Photo by Sutanta Aditya/NurPhoto)