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ank ANZ Indonesia has agreed to provide a loan of US$65 million for state-owned port management company PT Pelindo III to finance the expansion of its port facilities at Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, Tanjung Emas in Semarang, Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan and Benoa in Bali.

The five-year loan, with an annual interest rate of 5.35 percent, would help increase handling capacity at the four ports, where the turn-around time of freighters currently stood between four and five days, Pelindo III’s chief financial officer Wahyu Suparyono said at the loan signing ceremony on Wednesday.

ANZ Indonesia’s chief executive officer Joseph Abraham said the loan reflected his bank’s commitment to support the development of Indonesia’s infrastructure and help boost the country’s economic growth.

“By supporting Pelindo III’s business, we are also helping to improve access to markets, increase productivity and stimulate economic growth in eastern Indonesia,” said Abraham.

A large portion of the loan would be used for the building of a new multi-purpose terminal at Tanjung Perak to cope with a steadily increasing traffic of freighters, Suparyono said.

The project is part of the government’s infrastructure development program, called the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Growth (MP3EI), which was launched last year.

Suparyono said the number of freighters calling at Tanjung Perak had increased significantly, forcing vessels to wait up to 33 hours to berth.

“The development of the new terminal, called Teluk Lamong, is expected to shorten the waiting time and the turn-around time for ships,” he said, adding that this facility, when fully completed in 2014, would become the biggest international terminal in Indonesia.

The development of the Teluk Lamong terminal is being implemented in three stages consisting of dockyard, causeway and connecting-bridge construction, which will cost a total of Rp 1. 8 trillion ($197 million).

Pelindo III said an additional Rp 1 trillion would be invested to procure freight-handling equipment and information technology for the terminal. (nad)