[250515.EN.SEA] Indonesian Port Operators Awarded Concessions in Surabaya and Makassar

THE Indonesian Transport Ministry has awarded concession rights to state-owned port operator Pelindo III to run Teluk Lamong Port in Gresik, East Java, and for Pelindo IV to run Makassar New Port in South Sulawesi.

Pelindo III, which manages 15 ports in the central part of the country, was awarded concession rights to operate Teluk Lamong Port for the next 27 years, and is aimed at easing operations in the country's second-largest port, Tanjung Perak, Surabaya.

The company invested IDR3.4 trillion (US$268.6 million) for the initial stage of development completed last year. Funding was sourced from internal cash and bank loans.

The port occupies 40 hectares of land has a capacity of 1.5 million TEU and 10.3 million tonnes of dry bulk capacity per year at present, the Jakarta Post reported.

"The port currently has a capacity of 500,000 TEU in its domestic container terminal and one million TEU in its international container terminal," Pelindo III president Djarwo Sujanto said.

He also said the firm has begun the port's second stage of development, scheduled to be completed next year with a total investment of IDR7 trillion that would be used to build a pier, stacking yards, power plants and cranes.

"We predict that the port will reach its maximum capacity within the next two or three years, so we've decided to immediately begin the second stage of development," he said.

He said the third stage of development was expected to begin in 2021, with a total investment of IDR5.7 trillion, while the final stage of development would be completed in 2030.

Meanwhile, Pelindo IV, which manages ports in the country's east, received the rights to operate Makassar New Port for 70 years, paving the way for the port operator to begin the construction of the port's first stage of development this year.

By operating a new port, Pelindo IV hopes to increase its capacity to handle larger volumes of containers in Makassar as business activities grow. The existing port has a capacity of 700,000 TEU and handled 560,000 TEU last year.

"The new port will initially have a capacity of 400,000 TEU per year and will continue to be expanded to 3.5 million TEU per year," Pelindo IV president Mulyono said, adding that the new port was expected to be operational in early 2018.

Source : HKSG.