India Renews $104 Million Offer to Develop Indonesia’s Sabang Port
India has renewed its offer to invest about US$104 million to develop Sabang Port in Indonesia into a regional transshipment hub. Sabang lies on Weh Island, at the northern tip of Sumatra in Indonesia’s Aceh province, near the western entrance to the Malacca Strait and a short sea distance south-east of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The update came from Iskandar Zulkarnaen, head of the Sabang Free Trade Zone and Free Port Management Agency (BPKS), and was reported on 12 November. He said India first submitted the proposal in 2018 and has raised it five times since then, including in high-level meetings between the two countries’ leaders.
A study by Indian consultants, carried out from 2021 and completed in 2023, put the development cost at about US$104 million. Under the proposal, India would provide 80–85% of the funding and Indonesia the remaining 15–20%. The plan has gone through Indonesia’s foreign ministry and national planning agency, Bappenas, but has not yet received final approval.
From the CrewMirror Blog
Sabang already has a container terminal of about 12 hectares in its CT3 area, but the planned transshipment role has not started. BPKS is also looking at the port as a supply base for oil and gas exploration in the Andaman Sea and as a stop for cruise ships.
For India, the project would strengthen maritime links in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea region and support its wider port push, including the transshipment port at Vizhinjam in Kerala. More India maritime news is available on CrewMirror.
CrewMirror Takeaway
The project is still only a proposal, but new regional port links could, over time, bring more ship calls, coastal services and work for Indian seafarers and port staff in the Bay of Bengal region.
