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Govt claims progress on Patimban Port
The government claims preparatory work for Patimban Port in West Java is progressing, as the detailed engineering design (DED) is nearly complete
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T
he government claims preparatory work for Patimban Port in West Java is progressing, as the detailed engineering design (DED) is nearly complete.
The design may be completed ahead of the end of third quarter target, as the government was able to settle issues pertaining to the location of the project and spatial planning (RTRW) with the West Java administration.
Such development may pave the way for Indonesia and its counterpart, Japan, to sign a loan agreement in June or July.
“The DED is finished. We just need to review it a little bit for refinement,” Transportation Ministry’s director general for sea transportation, Antonius Tonny Budiono, said Thursday.
The ministry is also awaiting the inclusion of the port project in the “green book” of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), which lists projects funded by external loans with clear funding sources and ready for negotiation within the current year, Tonny added.
The board included the project in the book last September, estimating that the Japanese loan would reach US$1.7 billion in the first phase, while another $3.08 billion would require coverage by the Indonesian government and future operators of the port.
The exact cost is to be detailed in the DED.
Tonny said as intensive discussion was ongoing with the Japanese government, he assumed the funding had been allocated.
Located in Subang regency in West Java, Patimban Port is expected to fulfill demand from firms operating in Cikarang and Karawang.
The port, construction of which is scheduled to commence in early 2018, will have a container capacity of 1.5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) once it is partly completed in 2019.
The capacity will gradually increase to 7.5 million TEUs, around half the capacity of Tanjung Priok Port, the country’s busiest port, by 2027.
As the funding will be sourced from Japan, the government plans to match a local operator with a Japanese counterpart.
State-owned port operator Pelindo II is still seen as the strongest candidate, as it has experience in managing the country’s biggest gateway, Tanjung Priok.
Pelindo II president director Elvyn G. Masassya said the firm had proposed operating Patimban.
“We submitted a proposal this year. We will also cooperate with other operators,” he said.
The Transportation Ministry said earlier that Japanese firms Mitsubishi and Toyota had also expressed interest in becoming the port’s operator, although no formal decision had been made yet.
Economic counselor at the Japanese Embassy in Indonesia, Mari Takada, confirmed that the DED was inching toward completion.
“We are now awaiting a formal request from the Indonesian government based on our feasibility study,” she said, citing the cost and period of loans.
The feasibility study, which was being conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), was also being finalized, Takada said.
