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tate-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III (Pelindo III) will spend up to US$24.28 million to purchase 11 automated rubber tired gantry (ARTG) cranes from Konecranes Finland Corp. to beef up capacity at Tanjung Emas Port'€™s container terminal in Semarang, Central Java.

Pelindo III unit development and commercial director Husein Latief said last week that with the new investment, the terminal would be able to handle 800,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers within the next five years.

The agreement for the crane procurement was signed by Pelindo III'€™s procurement project officer Robby Dayoh and Timo Valkonen, a senior executive of Konecranes Finland Corp., in Semarang on Friday.

The ARTG cranes were the first pieces of auto-unloading equipment in the world. The cranes will be delivered in 2015 and will be in full operation at the end of the year.

Data from the company shows that the flow of containers increases 9 to 10 percent every year at the terminal. In 2013, the flow of containers reached 498,717 TEUs, increasing from 457,152 TEUs in 2012.

Husein said that the purchase would cut the company'€™s costs by 40 percent, as compared to the current conventional rubber tired gantry (RTG) cranes.

In addition to the purchase, the port operator is currently expanding the terminal'€™s dock by 105 meters and its container yards by 5.4 hectares. The 11 new cranes will be installed in the new container yards.

The company also plans to add two container cranes in April 2015 to be placed at the new dock.

Meanwhile, Konecranes sales manager, Janne Eklund, said he was happy to gain the trust of the state-owned port operator.

'€œI am delighted to receive this vote of confidence from Pelindo III in our RTG automation technology and project delivery abilities. With the Konecranes ARTG system installed and working at [the port], Indonesia will be well on the way in realizing its ambition of promoting freight transportation,'€ Eklund said.

Pelindo III used its internal cash to finance the purchase. The port operator, however, planned to issue global bonds amounting to $500 million to support the company'€™s expansion.

At the end of 2013, Pelindo III obtained a corporate loan of $121 million from Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank London branch. The loan was used to purchase dozens of pieces of loading and unloading equipment for terminal operations at Lamong Bay in East Java.