Indonesia’s state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) II has established an independent supervisory committee to ensure transparency in the construction and operation of Kalibaru Port, or New Priok, in north Jakarta.
According to Jakarta Post, the committee will be headed by Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, who is the former deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission. Committee members include economist Faisal Basri, Independent Research and Advisory Indonesia founder Lin Che Wei, Transparency International Indonesia secretary-general Natalia Soebagjo, and capital market expert Ahmad Fikri Assegaf.
“We need independent and credible people to monitor Kalibaru and ensure every process of the port development is in accordance with good corporate governance,” said Richard Joost Lino, president director of Pelindo II, or the Indonesian Port Corporation (IPC), as quoted by Jakarta Post.
The committee, which will exist for at least two years, can access any information about the port and attend any directors’ meeting. It can also provide feedback to Pelindo II on selecting partners to help operate Kalibaru. Its other tasks include to report any irregularities and to ensure the project is finished on time “because this is a huge project that is important for Indonesia,” said Erry Riyana.
Regarded as the country’s largest industrial port, the Kalibaru Port has an estimated cost of US$2.5 billion and a planned total capacity of 13 million standard containers.
Earlier, IPC announced it has picked Mitsui & Co. Ltd. of Japan to construct and finance the first container terminal in Kalibaru Port and start operating it by September 2014.
