Pelindo III, at the center of the action

With the relatively undeveloped Eastern Indonesia seen as the future for many of the vast nation’s sectors – including oil and gas, its largest export – it is no surprise that the country is taking logistical services to this part of the country seriously in order to continue its encouraging economic growth.

The state-owned Indonesia Port Corporation (IPC) was established to develop port operations across the nation’s 17,000 islands and Indonesia Port Corporation 3 (Pelindo III), one of four regional ICPs, looks over the lucrative Eastern block of islands that include Central and East Java, Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara and South and Central Kalimantan.

The area’s flagship port is Surabaya, the second largest port in Indonesia and a port that is seen as the gateway to Eastern Indonesia. Although behind Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok in terms of size, Surabaya exceeds it in terms of connectivity – highlighting the importance of the Pelindo III corridor in terms of logistics.

That connectivity is on the rise, with such plans in place to reduce ship waiting times and dedicate terminals to particular cargo and particular types of vessel to improve efficiency. “At Pelindo III we’re doing our best to improve accessibility and connectivity throughout Indonesia and the world,” says Djarwo Surjanto, Managing Director for Pelindo III. “To do this we’ll require a lot of support from inside and outside of the country and this is a lucrative opportunity for international investors.”

Improvements are not limited to Surabaya, with ports at Telok Lamong, Belawan and Bali also among the key players in Indonesia’s logistic performance and economic growth. Telok Lamong is anticipating large growth and has acted by building a new terminal dedicated to international cargo. New technologies including remote crane facilities also aim to improve efficiency, while the expansion of the newest terminals will allow freight capacity to triple and thus cut costs.

Tourism is an important part of the country’s economy and tourists are not being left out. A new aerobridge serviced passenger terminal has been installed in Belawan, the first of its kind in the country, while Bali is being made into a special ‘turnaround’ port for cruise ships.

And these improvements are being carried out with the environment in mind. “Right from the beginning, Pelindo III has planned for all our new terminals to be green terminals,” says Mr. Surjanto. “We’re avoiding diesel generators and fossil fuel power in general and moving towards electricity. If we do have to use a diesel engine we choose the most environmentally sensitive ones.”