Pelindo III to built a new international seaport
Pelindo III to built a new international seaport
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State-owned seaport company PT Pelindo III plans to build a new
US$200 million seaport in East Java to serve as an international
hub for cargo ships.
Pelindo III President Bambang Darwoto said on Wednesday the
new port would help Indonesian exporters save time and money as
cargo shipped from the port could bypass Singapore directly to
its destination.
"The new port is designed to serve exporters and ships from
the eastern part of Indonesia," said Bambang on the sidelines of
a hearing with House of Representatives Commission IV for
transportation.
He said the plan was also based on the fact that the existing
port in Surabaya, Tanjung Perak, was considered too small and
could no longer be expanded to accommodate future cargo load
volumes of between 3 million to 5 million twenty-feet equivalent
units (TEUs).
The installed capacity of the Tanjung Perak port is only
around 1.8 million TEUs with 11 cranes operating.
Bambang said the new seaport was expected to have an installed
capacity of at least 3 million TEUs with 20 cranes operating.
He said the new port would be built on 500 hectares of coastal
area in Kalilamong, about 40 kilometers north west of Tanjung
Perak.
The port would be integrated with industrial bonded zones and
warehouses to help exporters, he said.
Of the 500 hectares, the port would only require around 100
hectares while the remainder was intended for the industrial
estates.
Bambang said the feasibility study had been completed by PT
Dwipantara Transconsult and the Surabaya Institute of Technology
last year.
Pelindo would get financing help from the Surabaya
administration and several strategic foreign investors, he said.
For strategic investors, Pelindo would open a bidding process
in 2004 after the company concluded several administration
requirements such as an environmental impact analysis and a
detailed engineering document.
Bambang claimed that several consortia from Singapore, Europe
and Australia had expressed interest in joining the bid. He
refused to name names.
The construction of the port will be started in 2005, with
operations expected to start in 2015.
Pelindo III, which is headquartered in Indonesia's second
largest city Surabaya, operates 37 seaports, including in Central
Java, East Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara,
South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.
The company's net profit in 2002 increased to Rp 356 billion
from Rp 330 billion (US$37.5 million) the previous year.