Expansion of the Belawan International Container Terminal (BICT) in North Sumatra, Indonesia, will kick off next month in a move that will see its capacity nearly double.
This as state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia I (Pelindo I) has been awarded a 70-year concession to build and operate the BICT, one of the country’s key ports for commodity exports.
The redevelopment of Indonesia’s third largest port will be undertaken by Pelindo I’s subsidiary, Prima Terminal Peti Kemas.
Once completed, the terminal will improve its capacity from the present 1.2 million twenty-foot-equivalent units to 2.2 million TEUs per year, or an 83 percent increase, reports the Jakarta Post.
The expansion project, expected to cost IDR2.6 trillion (US$230 million), will involve the construction of a 350-meter pier, a causeway, and stacking yards with a capacity of 400,000 TEUs.
The harbor’s draft will also be deepened to enable 5,000-TEU-capacity vessels to enter the port.
The Belawan port is being envisioned to become the country’s main logistics gateway to compete with neighboring Singapore and Johor Bahru in Malaysia. The expansion is part of the government’s long-term economic development master plan.
After the Belawan project, Pelindo I will begin building the Kuala Tanjung Port, also in North Sumatra. Work on the first phase will start this year and is expected to be finished in 18 months to give the port an initial capacity of 1 million TEUs.
Pelindo I said it will invest IDR5 trillion over the next three years in the two infrastructure projects.
Photo: Ismail Rahmat Batubara
