Port operators cash in on privatization

Port operators cash in on privatization

JAKARTA (JP): State-managed operators of the country's two
busiest ports reported massive profits on Wednesday for 1999
following the successful partial privatization of their container
terminal facilities last year.

PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III (Pelindo III), which operates
Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, made a pretax profit of Rp 1.02
trillion, up from Rp 304.15 billion in 1998, following the
US$173.76 million sale of a 49 percent stake in PT Terminal Peti
Kemas Surabaya (TPS) in April, president Sumardi said on
Wednesday.

The stake was sold to Peninsular and Oriental Australia (P&O
Port Pty Ltd.), Sumardi told a hearing with House Commission IV,
which deals with infrastructure and transportation affairs.

P&O Port Pty Ltd. was picked from three other bidders --
Stevedoring Services of the United States, International
Container Terminal Services Inc. of the Philippines and French
port of Marseille -- for the stake in the Surabaya container
terminal.

Pelindo III operates 38 ports in Central and East Java, Bali,
East and West Nusa Tenggara, and South and Central Kalimantan.

Pelindo II, which is based in Jakarta, made a Rp 1.15 trillion
pretax profit, thanks to the Rp 1.03 trillion sale of a 51
percent stake in PT Jakarta International Container Terminal
(JITC), president Herman Prayitno told the same hearing.

Grossbeak Ltd., a unit of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison
Whampoa, acquired the JITC stake in April.

"We will restructure the terminal into a world class port,
adapting technology support and fixing the infrastructure for big
ships," Herman said.

The terminal's productivity rose 28.5 percent after five
months of operation under the new company, JITC said. Ten new
service calls have been added to the terminal since then.

Herman said Pelindo II was currently preparing to make an
initial price offering (IPO), expected in 2001.

Besides operating the Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Pelindo
II also manages ports in Sumatra, West Java and South Kalimantan.

The government has also listed Pelindo II among state
enterprises to be privatized in the next fiscal year beginning
April 1. (07)