The spatial spread of container transport in a developing regional economy: North Sumatra, Indonesia

As a capital intensive transport technology linked to industrialized economies, containerization has only recently penetrated the non-Western, developing periphery. The spatial spread of this revolutionary technology through the transport surface of a developing region encounters numerous institutional and technological barriers which are only removed by a reformulated of government trade and transport policies. In examining the spread process of container technology at the Port of Belawan and its hinterland of North Sumatra, Indonesia, attention is given to the important role of policy as a catalyst to the spatial penetration of this foreign imposed transport mode. Some negative consequences of technology adoption are explored and a spatial penetration model of container technology in a developing regional economy is proposed.