Facility upgrades eyed for Indonesian, Thai ports

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Laem_ChabangListed shipping firm Samudera Indonesia is to shell out over US$320 million to construct new ports and upgrade operating ones, as it revealed plans to shift focus from shipping to terminal operations over the next five years.

The company said it intends to rely less on shipping, which contributes 40% to its total revenue, and to develop its terminal business, Samudera Terminal Indonesia, which accounts for 13 percent of revenue. The listed firm’s other operations are logistics services and an agency.

Capacity development is reportedly already ongoing at the company’s existing terminal in Palaran, Samarinda. Once completed as projected in October this year, capacity at the site will expand to 330,000 TEUs from 220,000 TEUs.

By next year, the company aims to build a new terminal in the same location, and over the next two years, to operate new terminals in Batam, Riau Islands; Dumai, Riau; and Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

The company is also planning to increase the capacity of its three terminals in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, as well as add more terminals.

$55M Laem Chabang port improvement

On the other hand, the Thai government approved in a Cabinet meeting late last month an improvement plan for Laem Chabang Port as proposed by the Ministry of Transport.

Under the plan, the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) will undertake the Harbor Development Project at Laem Chabang Port, involving investing in infrastructure and main handling equipment. PAT will also be responsible for managing and operating the port.

Total investment budget for the undertaking is THB1.864 billion (US$55.128 million), and construction period is 24 months spanning 2015 to 2016.

PAT will construct an L-shape harbor measuring 30 meters wide, 120 meters to 125 meters long, 115-by-120 meters in marina size, and 10 mean sea level in depth.

When completed, the harbor can support one vessel with a tonnage capacity of 3,000 DWT carrying 200 DWT containers, and one with tonnage capacity of 1,000 DWT carrying 100 DWT containers.

A shore crane and a container arranging crane will also be installed to support up to 300,000 TEUs of containers per year.

The facility will be located at Marina 1 between Harbour A1 and A0 on a 6.9-hectare area in Laem Chabang Port in the Sriracha District of Chonburi Province, according to a report on the government’s website.

Photo: Lokomotive74