(Antaranews.com/Hermanus Prihatna)

Publicly-listed infrastructure company PT Nusantara Infrastructure is expanding its business from toll-road operator to port services player by acquiring a stake in a company managing a harbor in Lampung.

Nusantara said on Wednesday that its wholly owned subsidiary PT Portco Infranusantara had signed on Tuesday a sales purchase agreement (SPA) for 60,170 shares representing 39 percent ownership in PT Intisentosa Alambahtera, which controls Panjang Port in Bandar Lampung.

Nusantara bought the shares from a Hong Kong-based company for US$11 million.

“The SPA marks our start as a player in the port sector and we are also the first private company to serve as a port operator of a public harbor in Indonesia,” Nusantara president director Ramdani Basri said.

Panjang Port has a quayside of 300 meters and a storage area of 11,200 square meters, which will be able to accommodate up to 60,000 metric tons of dry bulk and 40,000 metric tons of bags. The port also has a storage tank for liquid bulk with capacity reaching 15,000 metric tons.

“The port is located in a strategic area in the middle of the Sunda Strait, which is important for trading activities between Europe, India and Africa. The port is also a significant base for flows of commodities from Kalimantan,” managing director Bernardus Djonoputro said.

Nusantara is planning to develop the port to achieve higher capacity from its current 1.28 million metric tons a year.

“We are expecting that the port’s capacity will increase threefold in the next five years. This is our company’s commitment to seriously develop infrastructure in Indonesia,” Ramdani said.

The business in Panjang Port is estimated to collect between $7 million and $8 million in revenue. Nusantara reported a 23 percent increase in revenue to Rp 232 billion in 2011 from Rp 187.62 billion in 2010. Rising operating expenses of Rp 143.97 billion made the company’s operating profits stand at Rp 88.13 billion.

However, financial expenses on loan repayments and interest, including losses inflicted by subsidiaries, caused the company to suffer a net loss of Rp 27.08 billion last year.

Currently, Nusantara has four toll roads: Bintaro-Bumi Serpong Damai; BMN-Makassar; the fourth section of the Makassar toll road (JTSE); and the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) Westside 1 Kebon Jeruk-Penjaringan.

Ramdani said that Nusantara would continue to expand its business in infrastructure, particularly in toll roads, harbors, water sanitation and electricity.

“We are eyeing several infrastructure projects for future acquisitions. There are, for example, projects worth more than Rp 10 trillion, and another project worth $70-80 million that we are reviewing,” Ramdani said.

He added that the company was considering several corporate actions to finance these acquisitions, including a rights issue, cooperation with financial institutions and strategic investors, as well as bank loans.

Popular

Reform era draws to a close

Essay competition: ‘Rethinking work: Driving sustainable growth in the digital age’

Local films outshine foreign ones in home market