Pelindo II gets nod for Kalibaru port
The Transportation Ministry has given the go-ahead to the Kalibaru Port project in North Jakarta, reported The Jakarta Post. Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said that the government gave a construction permit for Kalibaru to state-owned port operator Pelindo II (IPC).
"Based on the permit, the operator has to start the first phase of the Kalibaru Port construction within one year so that the new port will be able to commence operations as originally planned in 2014," Bambang told The Jakarta Post.
The issuance of the permit followed a presidential decree issued in April as the legal basis for the development of the Kalibaru container terminal.
In the first phase, the operator is expected to build three container terminals and two fuel berths with a total investment of US$2.42 billion.
The first phase will have a total capacity of 4.5 million TEUs.
He said that the port should become operational by 2014 because congestion at the country's main port, Tanjung Priok, was overwhelming.
According to the IPC, Tanjung Priok surpassed its handling capacity of 5 million TEUs in 2011, when container traffic reached 5.8 million TEUs, up 23 percent from 4.7 million TEUs in 2010.
This year, the volume is expected to increase 20 percent to 6.9 million TEUs.
