The influence of the sofifi pier development in tidore, 1975–2010

This article analyzes the physical as well as social issues surrounding the development of the Sofifi pier between 1975 and 2010. After more than three decades of investment, the pier became intra- and interprovincial hub for passengers as well as cargo ships transporting commodities such as cloves, nutmeg, copra, cocoa, cassava, bananas, fruits, livestock, cement, iron, sugar, rice, and flour. As such, the pier succeeded in connecting the Halmahera island to those of Ternate and Tidore. Yet, it only achieved doing so after a windy development taking over three decades. In 1975, the Sofifi pier was constructed using various funds from the government of Tidore. The pier was developed further by the municipality of Sofifi in 1982. In 2006 and 2010, the government of Tidore invested into the pier once more to bring it to its current state. The spurious development of the pier led to incomplete peripheral infrastructure and decreased shipping frequencies. Moreover, the pier’s geographical surrounding troubled the distribution of commodities and products from the regional political center on Tidore Island.