The government of Indonesia has issued a presidential decree mandating the development of Kalibaru port, clearing the way for port operator Pelindo II to begin the US$1.9-billion infrastructure project.
“The President [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] has signed the [decree] to build Kalibaru port,” presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha told The Jakarta Post in a text message in early April.
Pelindo II has been waiting for the presidential decree awarding it the Kalibaru port project so it could initiate the groundbreaking. The state-owned port operator was given the infrastructure contract after the government halted the bidding process to private developers early this year.
Once completed, the Kalibaru port in north Jakarta will be home to nine terminals—six container and three fuel berths—with a traffic capacity of 10.5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year.
Kalibaru has become a crucial project in Indonesia as another shipping gateway to support the Tanjung Priok port, the nation’s busiest , which is currently operating over its capacity of 5 million TEUs a year, The Jakarta Post said.
As stated in the original master plan, the sea lane at Kalibaru port will be widened to twice its size, from 150 meters to 300 meters, to accommodate increased shipping traffic.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transportation debunked reports that the Kalibaru port was intended to replace the Tanjung Priok port. In an April 2 press release on the Pelindo II website, the ministry stated that the Kalibaru project is meant to increase the capacity of existing ports in the country to prevent congestion in 2014.
Photo: Pelindo II
