BIMP-EAGA Transport Ministers Call for More Synergy Between Sectors

Transport connectivity alone is not enough to meet BIMP-EAGA's economic and social goals by 2025, said transport ministers in Jakarta.

The 12th BIMP-EAGA Transport Ministers’ Meeting was held on 6 December 2019 to review the progress of priority infrastructure projects and other cooperation initiatives in the transport sector. The ministers come from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, which comprise the East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

Indonesia’s Minister for Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi chaired the meeting. The other transport ministers at the meeting were Mohammad Nazri Mohammad Yusof, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications, Brunei Darussalam; Budi Karya Sumadi, Minister for Transportation, Indonesia; Kamarudin Jaffar, Deputy Minister of Transport, Malaysia; and Lino Hambala Dabi, Assistant Secretary, Department of Transportation, Philippines.

In a joint statement, the ministers said the transport sector has to work more closely with the other connectivity sectors: power, information and communication technology, and trade and investment facilitation, as well as with the agribusiness, tourism, environment, and education and socio-cultural sectors.

Cooperation initiatives and projects in these sectors make up Vision 2025, which guides the four Southeast Asian countries toward their goal of narrowing development gaps, sustainably managing natural resources, and promoting stronger connectivity through the BIMP-EAGA program.

"We task our senior transport officials to optimize existing working mechanisms to intensify complementation, coordination and convergence with the other sectors," the ministers said.

The ministers underscored particularly the need for enhanced coordination between the transport and trade facilitation sectors to ease the flow of goods, people, and services in the subregion. They also praised convergence initiatives between tourism and transport industry players, which are helping to ensure the growth and sustainability of intra-EAGA air services.

The ministers noted the completion of the following transport projects:

• Roads: the Pontianak–Entikong Transport Link, Tanjung Selor to Sabah Border Road, and the Balai Karangan–Entikong Road in Indonesia; the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak Package 1 from Teluk Melano to Sematan in Malaysia; and roads in Western Mindanao.
• Seaports: the upgrading of Bitung Port and the Makassar Port Phase I in Indonesia; the Lahad Datu Industrial Cluster Container Port in Malaysia; and the ports in Buliluyan, Zamboanga (Phase 1), General Santos (Makar Wharf), Coron, Malalag, and Cagayan de Oro (Phase 1) in the Philippines.
• Airports: Brunei International Airport (Phase 1) in Brunei Darussalam; the Entikong International Freight Terminal and the expansion of the Adi Soemarmo International Airport in Indonesia; and the San Vicente Airport and Puerto Princesa Airport in the Philippines.

Three other priority projects are expected to be completed within the year: the Temburong Bridge in Brunei Darussalam, the Manado-Bitung Road Enhancement, and the Balikpapan-Samarinda Toll Road in Indonesia.

The ministers also welcomed new air routes launched since 2018. WingsAir now flies between Pontianak and Kuching. Royal Brunei Airlines has routes to and from Bandar Seri Begawan to Kuching, Sandakan, Bintulu, Tawau, and Sibu, all in Malaysia, and Balikpapan in Indonesia. Garuda Airlines now flies between Manado in Indonesia, and Davao in the Philippines. A Zamboanga–Kota Kinabalu air service is expected to start in March 2020.