M/V Prince Khalil fastcraft serves the Bongao–Lahad Datu route. Photo credit: Official Facebook Page of Tawi-Tawi Governor Yshmael I. Sali.
The 300-seater M/V Prince Khalil fastcraft made its maiden voyage from Bongao, Tawi-Tawi to Lahad Datu, Sabah on 30 September. The roundtrip fare on the twice-weekly service costs 7,000 pesos ($125). The trip from Bongao to Lahad Datu takes about 3 hours.
Another ferry service linking Lahad Datu with Sulawesi in Indonesian Borneo may be launched toward the end of the year. The opening of these new sea routes is expected to improve cross-border mobility of goods and people in the BIMP-EAGA subregion.
Maritime transport plays a crucial role in enhancing transport connectivity and boosting trade in the BIMP-EAGA subregion, which covers the entire sultanate of Brunei Darussalam; the provinces of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and West Papua of Indonesia; the states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan in Malaysia; and the island of Mindanao and the province of Palawan in the Philippines. These areas are geographically far from the national capitals, yet strategically close to each other.
Tawi-Tawi is part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and strategically located near Borneo and other areas of BIMP-EAGA. The province has a long history of trade with its neighbors in the subregion.
The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) announced on its Facebook page that it launched the Bongao–Lahad Datu Barter Trade Route with the BARMM Barter Trade Council on 28 September in anticipation of the new ferry service and planned cargo shipping service. MinDA is the Philippines’ coordinating office for BIMP-EAGA.
The trade of halal-certified goods, such as frozen poultry, are among those expected to be facilitated by the new route.
At the weekly Habi at Kape media forum in Davao City last Wednesday, Jonathan C. Miral, head of MinDA’s International Relations Division, said the fastcraft service will facilitate tourism and business exchanges between Bongao and Lahad Datu. He said another service will also be launched for shipping cargo using a kumpit, a nonconventional-sized ship that is traditionally used by barter traders. He explained that this is part of MinDA’s initiative to formalize the barter trading system. He acknowledged the strong support of the Provincial Government of Tawi-Tawi for BIMP-EAGA and the leadership of Governor Yshmael I. Sali in making the direct transport services happen.
At an international conference in Kota Kinabalu in August, the Tawi-Tawi governor said Sabah is “an important partner for mutual economic development,” being its closest neighbor in BIMP-EAGA.
Lahad Datu is located strategically in the Tawau division of the east coast of Sabah. It can be reached by road from any major town in the state, including Kota Kinabalu. The Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) Lahad Datu Port has a container terminal, dry bulk terminal, liquid bulk terminal, and a barge berth.
There have been plans to operate a ferry service between Lahad Datu and Tanjung Tanjung Silopo Port in Polewali Mandar, one of the five regencies in West Sulawesi province of Indonesia. Developing the Tanjung Silopo Port as a gateway for goods for West Sulawesi will reduce logistics costs for traders who use Makassar Port in South Sulawesi as a transit hub. And it could serve as a gateway for Indonesian immigrant workers from Sabah.
A Daily Express report said ferry operators are also looking into offering a service from Pare-Pare Port in South Sulawesi to Lahad Datu.
Other sea routes that BIMP-EAGA officials want to develop in the subregion include Muara (Brunei)–Puerto Princesa and Bongao–Labuan.