Deepwater port project launched in West Java

BOJONEGARA, West Java (JP): The construction of a vast deepwater port was launched here yesterday, marking the start of a megaproject which is expected to ease the burden on Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port.

The port is being developed by a firm controlled by Bambang Trihatmodjo of the Bimantara Group.

The first phase of the 1,200-hectare port project was launched by Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto. He was accompanied by the chief commissioner of PT Bina Jasa Hantarindo, Bambang Trihatmodjo, and the president of state-owned PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II, A. Harbani, at yesterday's launch.

Haryanto said the port, designed to berth large container vessels including cape-size ships, would accommodate the overflow from Tanjung Priok and help reduce road traffic in and around Jakarta.

"This project, slated to start operating in 1998, is in anticipation of global free trade," he said.

Although the Bojonegara port will be almost twice the size of the 604-hectare Tanjung Priok port, Haryanto said it would not replace Tanjung Priok.

"Each of them has a clear market," Haryanto said.

The Bojonegara port, he said, would mostly handle container traffic for West Java and Sumatra.

"Bojonegara will not usurp the container freight which traditionally flows through Tanjung Priok," he asserted.

Tanjung Priok currently operates two container terminals, while a third terminal, involving huge land-reclamation work, is being developed by PT Manggala Krida Yuda, a subsidiary of the Humpuss Group which is controlled by President Soeharto's youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra.

Tanjung Priok cannot berth container vessels with a draft over 12 meters or a capacity over 2,500 twenty-feet equivalent units (TEUs).

The latest generation of container ships, which Bojonegara is scheduled to be able to accommodate, have a draft of up to 18 meters and a capacity of over 6,000 TEUs.

Tanjung Priok has been frequently criticized for inefficiencies and heavy red tape which cause port congestion.

Bambang, an elder brother of Hutomo, acknowledged that Bojonegara might take over Tanjung Priok's container freight.

Bob Hippy, the president of PT Bina Jasa, told reporters yesterday that Bina Jasa had not yet selected its partners for the Bojonegara port project.

He said that three foreign companies had already submitted proposals -- the International Container Services of the Philippines, Patrick Stevedoring of Australia and the Hamburg Port Authority of Germany.

He said phase one of the project would require a US$700 million investment, while the following phases would be financed by the proceeds from phase one's operations.

He said a share-holding composition for the project had yet to be determined.

Harbani said the port, in the Banten regency, would be managed by a consortium of Pelabuhan Indonesia II and Bina Jasa under a 30-year build, operate and transfer contract.

Under the contract, 30 percent of the proceeds from the port's operations will go to Pelabuhan Indonesia II and the remaining 70 percent to private companies, including Bina Jasa.

In the first phase of the project, to be completed in 1999, approximately 500 hectares, some 20 kilometers east of the Merak ferry terminal, are to be converted into a port with a handling capacity of 300,000 TEUs.

Apart from container terminals, the port is to have a bulk grain terminal, a bulk liquid terminal and other commercial facilities.

By the end of phase one, the port is scheduled to have a 400- meter wharf, an 18-hectare container yard, four container cranes and 20 trans trainers.

The second phase of the project is expected to increase the handling capacity of the port to 703,000 TEUs and extend the wharf to 900 meters. The container yard is to be expanded to 40.5 hectares and be served by eight container cranes and 27 trans trainers.

The third phase is expected to increase its handling capacity to 1.43 million TEUs, extend the wharf to 1,200 meters, expand the container yard to 54 hectares and increase the number of container cranes and trans trainers to 12 and 51 respectively.

In the project's fourth phase, handling capacity is to be increased to 1.73 million TEUs and the wharf lengthened to 1,800 meters. The container yard is to be expanded to 72 hectares and the container cranes and trans trainers are to be increased to 16 and 79 units, respectively.

By the end of the fifth phase, the handling capacity is scheduled to reach 2.1 million TEUs and the wharf should be 1,800 meters long.

The sixth and final phase of the project, to commence in 2004 and be operational by 2007, is to increase the handling capacity to 2.4 million TEUs and expand the container yard to 81 hectares.

Harbani estimated that the container traffic in West Java, to move through Tanjung Priok and Bojonegara, will increase by 15 percent to 17.5 percent a year between 1996 and the year 2000, reaching 2.5 million TEUs by the year 2000.

From 2000 to 2005, the growth rate is expected to decrease slightly to between 10 percent and 14 percent a year, reaching 4.2 million TEUs a year by 2005. (pwn)

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