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o monitor the construction and operation of Kalibaru Port, or New Priok, touted to be the country’s largest industrial port, the state-owned port company Pelindo II and the Vice Presidential Office have setup a supervisory committee.

The committee consists of several prominent figures including former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, economist Faisal Basri, Independent Research and Advisory Indonesia (IRAI) founder Lin Che Wei, Transparency International Indonesia (TII) secretary-general Natalia Soebagjo and capital market expert Ahmad Fikri Assegaf.

Erry Riyana will head the committee.

“We need independent and credible people to monitor Kalibaru and ensure every process of the port development is in accordance with good corporate governance,” said Richard Joost Lino, president director of Pelindo II, the Indonesian Port Corporation (IPC).

Dani Rusli Utama, president director of PT Pengembang Pelabuhan Indonesia (PPI), was in line with Lino saying that an independent committee was important for transparency. PPI is a subsidiary of IPC that will manage and develop the port.

“The port belongs to the public and we want people who can represent the public to monitor the project. This is not only in the best interest of the people but also a reminder that we have to execute the project as best as we can,” Dani said.

The committee will work with the IPC and the PPI for two years with a possibility to extend the collaboration.

The committee has the right to access any information about the port and can attend any directors meeting. They can also give input to the IPC and the PPI in selecting partners that will help the firms operate Kalibaru.

Meanwhile, Erry Riyana said that the committee has had four meetings with the management of the firms regarding the development of the port.

“In the first stage, we are going to look at the documentation of Kalibaru. If we find any irregularities, we will report them to the commissioners, State-Owned Enterprises Ministry or Transportation Ministry,” Erry said.

The committee will even report to KPK or the police if there are any criminal indications in the development of the port.

The committee visited Kalibaru Port recently to see the progress of the project.

Piling, mat and breakwater projects are currently underway at the port.

“We are here also to make sure that they finish on time because this is a huge project that is important for Indonesia,” he went on.

IPC is set to develop the New Priok with a planned total capacity of 13 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) worth around Rp 24 trillion (US$2.5 billion), constructed in three phases.

In the first phase, the firm will construct three container terminals with a total capacity of 4.5 million TEUs and two fuel berths that are expected to be completed by the end of 2016.

Each terminal will be built with draft of 16 meters, allowing a ship as large as 6,000 TEUs to dock.

In the future, the draft will be deepened up to 20 meters to cope with much larger ships.

Jasa Marga plan to construct a 7-
kilometer toll road connecting Marunda Logistics Park to the new port, expected to be finished before 2016.

PC recently announced that Japan’s Mitsui & Co., Ltd. had won the tender to operate Kalibaru’s first container terminal, beating Maersk Line and MEC.