Modern infrastructure available for investors
Modern infrastructure available for investors
Evolving Batam into an industrial area with international
standards is not easy. But the Batam Industrial Development
Authority (BIDA) is able to do it from the start of the
development of the island into industrial bonded zone 30 years
ago.
Modern infrastructure facilities such as seaports, airports,
paved roads or highways are now available for investors who open
their factories on the island.
Seaport
Batam Island covers an area of 415 square kilometers but with
Rempang and Galang islands included into Batam, the total area
of Batam will reach 715 square kilometers. Batam has seven
seaports spreading through Galang, Telaga Punggur, Nongsa, Teluk
Senimba, Sekupang, Kabil and Batu Ampar. Sekupang, Kabil and Batu
Ampar have representative cargo seaports.
BIDA's Seaport Office has drawn up regulations forbidding the
use of the seaports for non-seaport-related activities in order
to ensure the comfort, convenience and the feeling of security on
the part of the seaport users, particularly investors, as the
primary consumers of the facilities. Under the regulations, the
seaports have been maintained as an area mainly for seaport
activities or Daerah Lingkungan Kerja Pelabuhan and an area
mainly for the interest of seaport or Daerah Lingkungan
Kepentingan Pelabuhan. The regulations have been prepared to make
the seaports poised for the free trade era.
With regards to cargo port in Batam, local seaport management
has paid a great deal of attention to Batu Ampar due to its space
and capacity. With its open-cargo warehouse covering an area of
214,000 square meters, Batu Ampar is currently the biggest
seaport in terms of open-cargo warehouse, compared with the other
two seaports. The seaport has berthing capacity of 35,000 Dead
Weight Tons (DWT) and a total wharf length of 1,250 meters.
Efforts continue to be made to increase the capacity of the
seaport by, for instance, maintaining the existing facilities so
that they can be utilized optimally.
Local seaport authority places security as its top priority
because only with guaranteed security, can businesses operate in
comfort. To curb unexpected activities at the seaport, for
instance, the Directorate of Security of the Batam Authority, a
unit tasked with safeguarding the Batam Authority's assets,
collaborates with the local Police Office.
Kabil Seaport is situated in Nongsa District, about 30 km from
Nagoya, the city center of Batam. The seaport, with the berthing
capacity of 35,000 DWT, has been specially intended for the
docking of ships that transport crude palm oil (CPO). The seaport
can accommodate ships with a large draft. With its location far
from the city center, Kabil Seaport is a more comfortable place
to undertake seaport activities. The seaport is equipped with a
100,000 square meters of open-warehouse space and 1,890 square
meters of closed-warehouse space, with a total wharf length of
420 meters. With the facilities and capacity, the Kabil Seaport
as a cargo port, is ready to accommodate seaport activities.
Sekupang Seaport is busy with accommodating activities by
vessels that transport electronic items from Singapore to be
marketed in Batam. Compared to two other seaports, the Sekupang
Seaport is less busy. The Sekupang Seaport has berthing capacity
of 10,000 DWT and total wharf length of 177 meters. The seaport
is also equipped with a 116,100 square meters of open-warehouse
space and 42,240 square meters of closed-warehouse space.
Airport
The Hang Nadim International Airport has a 4,025-meter runway,
the longest in Southeast Asia. The Hang Nadim runway is longer
than the 3,650 meters at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport and
4,000 meters at Singapore's Changi Airport.
The Airport has taken the name after a national Hero, who was
a Malay admiral involved in a war between 1511 and 1528.
Occupying a total area of 1,600 hectares, the Hang Nadim
Airport serves wide body passenger and cargo aircraft with daily
flights to 16 destinations, including Jakarta, Jambi, Padang,
Pekan Baru, Medan, Medan and Surabaya. Airlines that serve the
airport are Garuda Indonesia Airways, Pelita Air, Jatayu, Mandala
Airlines, Lion Air, Bouraq and Merpati Nusantara.
Hang Nadim Airport Director Imam Soelvan said that efforts
were underway to launch programs to maximize the use of the
airport and to provide the necessary equipment for the airport as
a vital facility in a free trade area. One of the programs is to
optimize the use of the airport. As the third airport in terms of
facilities and equipment after the Soekarno-Hatta and the Ngurah
Rai Airport (Bali), Hang Nadim has been promoted to domestic and
international flight companies. Another program is to develop the
airport into a retail airport/shopping center. "This will only
happen to international airports. Efforts are now underway to
develop the airport into a shopping center," Imam Soelvan said.
The management of Hang Nadim airport has also made efforts to
develop it into an airport that supports aircraft offering
international cargo flight services. Currently, the cargo
flights are served by Mandala Airlines Type 300 A, with three
flights weekly to Hongkong ; Sabang Merauke Air Charter (SMAC),
with two flights daily to Singapore ; and Condiction Air, with
four flights daily to Singapore. The SMAC and Condiction Air use
smaller aircraft. However, with the busy flight activities, the
airport is expected to meet the needs for continued flights via
Singapore's Changi Airport.
Hang Nadim Airport received ISO 9002 Certificate for Quality
Management System Standard in early April 2002. The award was
issued by Lloyds Quality Insurance and is subject to evaluation
once every six months.
Hang Nadim Airport's load factor reaches 3.3 million per year.
The airport is also equipped with a sophisticated technology-
based system enabling access to aircraft. The Soekarno-Hatta and
the Ngurah Rai International Airports are the only other airports
that have such a system in Indonesia.