The government has granted three new licenses to oversee cargo at the country's international airports, and inspections will proceed as scheduled from Sunday (Sep 4) despite a call from business groups to postpone their implementation by six months. "We will stick with the plan," Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang S. Ervan said on Friday (Sep 2). "The regulation will be effective on September 4." Bambang said the three new regulatory agents included Angkasa Pura II, the state-owned airport operator. He declined to identify the other two. They will join Duta Angkasa Prima Kargo, Gita Afian Trans and Fajar Anugerah Sejahtera, which received their licenses in July, lifting the total number of cargo inspectors to six. Local media said private companies, namely Wahana Senareksa (RPX), Surveyor Indonesia, Birotika Universe (DHL Express) and Pajajaran Global Service, applied to be inspection agents. M. Kadrial, the chairman of the Indonesian Express Delivery Companies Association (Asperindo), said there should be at least 100 inspection agencies to handle the more than 540 cargo and freight-forwarding companies operating in Indonesia. Last week, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) called on the government to postpone its plan to implement the new inspection procedures by six months, to March of next year, citing the complicated inspection process as the reason. Kadin also objected to the flat fee, which was 10 to 14 times higher than the normal rate of Rp 60 per kilogram for all packages. Under the new inspection system, packages will be inspected individually in an X-ray scanner rather than in bulk. The Transportation Ministry spokesman said the tariff was in line with the one suggested by Kadin, which proposes Rp 200 to Rp 400 per kilogram (2 cents to 5 cents) for domestic shipping and Rp 250 to Rp 450 on international cargo from known shippers. Bambang said the licensed agents had committed to comply with Kadin's tariff proposal. The government's new regulations, designed to improve security, were first implemented on July 4 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Not long after the new system began, chaos ensued. A long backlog of cargo awaiting inspection developed, prompting cargo-forwarding companies to strike. Hundreds of tons of cargo were stranded, incurring losses estimated in the billions of rupiah. Hundreds of workers staged a one-day rally to protest a regulation issued by the Transportation Ministry stipulating that only three companies - Duta Angkasa Prima Kargo, Gita Afian Trans and Fajar Anugerah Sejahtera - would be responsible for security screening of cargo.(jakartaglobe)