Indonesia has invested IDR 5.4 trillion (about US$345 million) to build the new Makassar Port in South Sulawesi, Indonesia's second largest port after Tanjung in Jakarta.

“We hope that this major port, located in eastern Indonesia, will be able to reduce domestic logistics costs,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said during the opening ceremony on Thursday.

J. Widodo emphasized the importance of efficiency in the face of fierce competition at the national and international levels.

Due to the lack of integration between the location of ports and factories and industrial zones, logistics costs in Indonesia reached 24 percent 10 years ago. According to J. Widodo, although this figure has now dropped to 14 percent, much remains to be done to further reduce this figure.

The new port of Makassar has a depth of 16 meters and a capacity of up to 2.5 million TEU, allowing it to accommodate large vessels carrying containers.