Bali's Pengambengan Fishing Port Workforce Projected to Nearly Triple to About 25,000, With Training Pledged for Locals

Work on a much larger fishing port at Pengambengan in Jembrana, Bali, began with a groundbreaking on Tuesday, Sept. 29, and once the upgrade is done the port's workforce is projected at about 25,000 people, nearly triple the number of workers now. The same number appears as jobs for up to 25,000 people in ANTARA's English coverage, and as a projected multiplier effect of up to 25 thousand workers in the ministry's follow-up release, so it is an estimate, not a count of posted vacancies. Local residents would be able to take up these opportunities, supported by training and capacity-building programs, the minister said. For Metaintro readers in Bali and across Indonesia, the useful questions are what the port will add, which kinds of work the plans name, how far away the jobs are and where a fisher, a school leaver or a processing worker can train. Here is what the ministry's own releases, the lender's project notice and the local polytechnic's pages show.

What Is Being Built at Pengambengan, and When Will It Be Finished?

The work is the Integrated Fishing Ports and International Fish Market Phase I project, run by Indonesia's Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, known as KKP. It will expand the port area from 13.5 hectares to 49.3 hectares and the harbor basin from 24 hectares to 88.3 hectares.

Capacity will rise from 1,273 to 1,600 vessels, enough to take larger fishing vessels that now operate from Benoa Port. Part of the new land comes from reclaiming tens of hectares of water at Pengambengan.

The project has a contract value of Rp1.27 trillion and is projected to be completed by the end of 2029. Two other dates are in circulation, a building target of 915 calendar days, from 3 September 2026 to 5 March 2029, and an estimate from the Directorate General of Capture Fisheries that runs the work to the end of 2028.

Construction is in the hands of China Road and Bridge Corporation together with PT Nindya Karya, whose contract was signed on 7 August 2026, with PT Agrinas Jaladri Nusantara as construction manager. The work is split into preparation, sea-side infrastructure and land-side infrastructure, with preparation and the first sea-side and land-side building planned for 2026 and both continuing in 2027.

The lender's general procurement notice for the two Phase I ports, issued 22 May 2023, is marked closed, with a last submission date of 31 December 2025, and the construction contract was signed on 7 August 2026. Under the notice, specific procurement notices would be posted as they became available on the IsDB website, the UNDB website and the ministry's procurement website, and it named the Directorate General of Capture Fisheries as the contact for interested firms and individuals.

Is the Projected Workforce a Count of New Jobs?

Not quite. The workforce absorbed at the upgraded port is projected at about 25,000 people, nearly triple the number of workers now, which makes 25,000 a total for the finished port. KKP's Directorate General of Capture Fisheries projects that absorption rising from 8,800 people to 25,000 people by the final stage of the project.

The project's projected multiplier effect is up to 25 thousand workers, a figure the minister predicted for the case where the port is developed well.

Neither of the ministry's two releases, the groundbreaking release and the follow-up on local fishers, names employers, pay or an application route for these jobs.

What Facilities Do the Plans Name, and What Work Do They Involve?

Until now the port has focused on harbour services, and after the upgrade it is meant to connect with the processing industry, marketing and distribution, and the range of fish landed will widen to include tuna.

Annual fish landings are projected to more than double, reaching 124,000 metric tons from 61,300 metric tons.

Across the two Phase I ports, Kejawanan and Pengambengan, civil works include reclamation, breakwater, berth, loading/unloading area, maneuvering basin for fishing vessels, industrial area, cold storage and supporting port facilities. Equipment for the two ports includes a Port Management System and heavy equipment such as forklifts, trucks, supervision vehicles and excavators.

On the land side, the plans include a fish auction hall, a harbourmaster's office, kiosks for small businesses, a modern fish market and a wastewater treatment plant. The sea-side package covers breakwater, revetment, dredging of the harbour basin and piers.

Those facilities fall into a few areas of work:

• Construction and marine works. The sea-side package covers breakwater, revetment, harbour dredging and piers, alongside reclamation.
• Fishing and vessel work. The government envisions Pengambengan as a docking hub for large fishing vessels, including tuna fishing boats.
• Cold chain and processing. The Phase I notice for both ports names an industrial area and cold storage, and the port's new role covers fish processing, marketing, and distribution.
• Market, food and visitors. The minister promised a modern fish market and a culinary centre, and the port could support the development of a new tourism destination in western Bali.
• Port operations. The Phase I notice for both ports names a Port Management System, forklifts and trucks.

Why Are Large Fishing Boats Moving From Benoa?

The minister considers Benoa no longer suitable for development as a fishing port and better directed toward tourism, which includes the mangrove area around it. His plan for Pengambengan draws on fishing ports he has seen in Europe, Australia, Japan, Turkey and Vigo in Spain. Benoa is being prepared as the Bali Maritime Tourism Hub, with all industrial fishing activity to move to Pengambengan in stages.

Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono has warned that he will not issue licences to industrial vessels that refuse to move and operate from Pengambengan.

The expanded basin is designed to take large-tonnage fishing vessels that have so far berthed at Benoa.

What Do Pengambengan's Fishers Want From the Project?

One purse seine fisher, Anan, has fished out of Pengambengan for 11 years, and he said lean seasons often leave fishers unemployed for extended periods, forcing many to seek alternative work.

He hopes the port will include cold storage and boat repair facilities that can provide employment opportunities for fishers unable to go to sea. Another purse seine fisher, I Ketut Sumajaya, with 15 years at sea from Pengambengan, points to siltation in the anchorage basin that has hampered loading and unloading. He expects a modern port to make it easier for fishers to load and unload fish and distribute them to processing facilities, and he called the start of work a moment local fishers had waited for since 2020.

That way, we will not have to remain idle for long during the lean season, Pengambengan fisher Anan said, according to ANTARA's English translation.

The minister also wants the development to meet the needs of small and large fisheries businesses, as well as traditional fishermen in the area. Small-scale one-day fishers are to get dedicated facilities, including a Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih fishing village.

Who Is Paying for the Port?

The Islamic Development Bank provided financing of EUR 100 Million equivalent for Phase I, which covers Kejawanan Fishing Port in Cirebon, West Java, and Pengambengan Fishing Port. The loan has been in effect since 8 February 2023.

The port expansion is funded by an investment of around Rp 1.2 trillion (approximately US$67 million) and forms part of a broader integrated fisheries industrial estate. The minister wants the port built once and fully integrated rather than piecemeal, and he ruled out a budget for Pengambengan of only Rp500 billion or Rp600 billion. Annual non-tax state revenue from the port is expected to reach Rp104 billion, up from Rp48 billion. A similar modernization program is also underway at Kejawanan fishing port in Cirebon.

Why Do Bali's Leaders Want a Bigger Fishing Port?

Tourism makes up 60 percent of Bali's economy, and Governor Wayan Koster wants the island to lean also on agriculture, manufacturing, industry, the creative economy and fisheries. He calls the port project one that will raise the welfare of fishers and develop fisheries from upstream to downstream.

Jembrana's nearby Indian Ocean waters hold plenty of bluefin tuna, and the port is being built for export, the minister explained.

The Directorate General of Capture Fisheries plans a one-stop service for fishers and local fisheries businesses, whose products are meant to compete internationally. The aim is a port that brings traditional small-scale fishers and international-scale industry into one place.

What Training Has Been Promised for Local Workers?

Minister Trenggono asked that the people working at the port be Balinese, so that they get good jobs and are well trained and educated, and he asked regional governments to make sure the people of Bali get the chance to fill the workforce needs through education and training.

He wants proper wastewater treatment at the port, and there is a polytechnic to educate workers from the local community.

Under the financing, a Port Management Operation Consultant will implement training and capacity building activities, bring internationally recognised port management practice and implement ISO14001.

None of these pages gives a start date or an enrolment route for training tied to the new port. The routes below already exist.

Our hope is that the port will become a destination that integrates a modern fisheries industry with tourism, Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said, according to ANTARA's English translation.

What Does the Fisheries Polytechnic in Pengambengan Teach?

The Politeknik KP Jembrana campus sits in Desa Pengambengan, Negara district, and the college was formally established on 2 January 2019, after running vocational education since 2017.

It offers three Diploma III programmes, in capture fisheries, seafood processing and aquaculture, each a vocational route into one field of fisheries work.

First-year seafood processing cadets sat a four-day HACCP certification on 19 to 22 May 2026, the first of several competency trainings under KKP's integrated capacity-building programme, which also covers SPI, MPM CPIB, CBIB, CPPIB, CDOIB and CPOIB.

How Do You Apply to a KKP Fisheries Polytechnic?

Admissions to KKP's colleges run through the PENTARU admissions portal. Applicants pay a registration fee of Rp125,000 and a selection fee of Rp150,000.

A special track for low-income marine and fisheries families gives a tuition fee waiver to students from low-income families who work in, or support, the marine and fisheries sector, and to their children. The documents asked for on that track include:

• a photo, the latest diploma or a final-exam certificate or semester five report card
• the family card, a birth certificate and parents' identity cards
• a KUSUKA number or relevant document, and a certificate of low income
• proof of the registration fee transfer

The latest notices on the portal are selection results for the general track, third wave, for the 2026/2027 academic year, and the same portal is the place to watch for the next intake.

What About Training for Fishing Crews?

For working crews, KKP is speeding up certification for crew on fishing vessels above 300 GT, with training and exams for nautical officers (ANKAPIN) and engineers (ATKAPIN).

That push ran at the same time in Karawang and other places including Ambon, Bitung and Banyuwangi, and it is backed by a 2026 ministerial regulation on fishing vessel crewing, education and training, exams and crew certification. The ministry also launched a fishing simulator for crew training, covering navigation, equipment operation and emergencies. The simulator work ties in with the 2024 comprehensive amendments to the STCW-F convention on training and certification for fishing vessel personnel, and the ministry's training agency plans to push simulator use across its fisheries training centres and polytechnics throughout Indonesia to narrow gaps in practice facilities between regions.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

This is a long build with a big projected payoff, not a hiring drive. The projected workforce of about 25,000 sits at the end of a build projected to finish by the end of 2029, and it rests on the port expanding its role to include fish processing, marketing, and distribution.

Use the construction years to get qualified. The minister wants Balinese workers, trained and educated, and a fisheries college is already in Pengambengan. Before you commit time or money, compare courses against the questions in how to choose a skills training programme that actually raises your pay.

Here is what we would do:

• Marine and fisheries families. Look at the PENTARU special track, which waives tuition for low-income families in the marine and fisheries sector.
• School leavers. Compare the three diploma courses at Politeknik KP Jembrana and pick the one closest to the work you want.
• Processing students. The polytechnic's first-year seafood processing cadets sat HACCP certification in May 2026 as part of KKP's integrated competency training.
• Crew on larger boats. Follow KKP's crew certification drive for vessels above 300 GT.
• Construction trades. Development of the port has officially begun, and the main contractor is China Road and Bridge Corporation with PT Nindya Karya.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many jobs will the Pengambengan port upgrade create?

A: The workforce absorbed at the upgraded port is projected at about 25,000 people, nearly triple the number of workers now, an estimate rather than open vacancies, and the Directorate General of Capture Fisheries projects it rising from 8,800 people to 25,000 people.

Q: When will the Pengambengan fishing port be finished?

A: Completion is projected for the end of 2029, while the building target is 915 calendar days, ending 5 March 2029.

Q: Where can people in Jembrana train for fisheries jobs?

A: Politeknik KP Jembrana, a KKP college in Desa Pengambengan, offers Diploma III courses in capture fisheries, seafood processing and aquaculture, and applications go through the KKP admissions portal.

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