Director Moedi Utomo of the port’s developer, PT Prima Multi Terminal (PMT), told reporters in Jakarta on Monday that the loan from state infrastructure financing company PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI) would be used for, among other things, installing the electrical wiring and computers needed for the operation of the port from a single control room.

The multipurpose terminal, the construction of which was 99 percent complete, would start fully operating by next February, he said after signing the loan agreement with SMI.

The terminal’s construction, which began in 2015, was slated for completion in 2018 but delayed due to logistical problems related to the geographical isolation of the construction site.

The multipurpose terminal is part of phase one of Kuala Tanjung Port’s four construction phases, which will also include the development of an industrial park, a container terminal and a residential area.

Moedi said his company would hold a limited-operation soft launch in December using mobile cranes.

“Full operation will mean that we will have installed three fixed container cranes by February 2019,” he said, adding that his company was expecting the cranes to arrive to the port by December.

Moedi later told The Jakarta Post that the automation of the terminal was in line with a recent decision by parent company and port operator Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) I and the Transportation Ministry to upgrade all harbors in the country.

“We initially planned for Kuala Tanjung to be a conventional port but then it was decided to make it a more technologically advanced hub,” he said.

PMT is 55 percent owned by Pelindo I, 20 percent by PT Waskita Karya and 25 percent by PT Pembangunan Perumahan.

PMT previously received a syndicated loan of Rp 2.1 trillion from state-owned lenders Bank Mandiri, BNI and BRI for the port construction.

Pelindo I director Bambang Eka Cahyana said his company was currently negotiating a contract with multinational consumer goods company Unilever for the facilitation of its exports of 400 containers of goods each week through the port with Singaporean palm oil company Wilmar for at least 200 containers and a cigarette producer for at least 50 containers.

“Our target for Kuala Tanjung is to accommodate the shipment of at least 500 containers per week,” he said, adding that the port was strategic in that it would access markets in North Asia, China and Taiwan.

Aluminum producer PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum), which owns a designated area in Kuala Tanjung Port, increased its presence in the area with the construction of a new eight-storey office building in August.

A 2012 Transportation Ministry assessment of Kuala Tanjung said that the port would be ideal for companies with factories based in Sumatra to ship products both domestically and internationally. The report identified Inalum and palm-oil producing companies as the top prospective users of the port.

SMI payment and investment director Edwin Syahruzad said his company, founded in 2009, was “thankful” to be able to invest in the port because it was a national strategic project.

“We, as a newcomer, are ready to take the investment risk with the port,” he said. (nor)

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