Pelindo III Prepares Monorail for Tanjung Perak Port

TEMPO.CO, Surabaya - Edi Priyanto, spokesman of state-owned port service company Pelindo III, said they are gearing up to build a monorail that will connect the Lamong Bay container terminal with Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya. The project is considered to be one solution in parsing the frequent congestion in and around the container depot and the Port of Tanjung Perak.

"If [the project] is successful, we also plan to be build a monorail at the Port of Tanjung Priok, Jakarta," said Edi told Tempo yesterday.

Pelindo III will work on the Rp2-trillion project with listed construction company Adhi Karya (IDX: ADHI). The ACT will be assembled by PT Inka and PT LEN, and the feasibility test will be conducted by the Technology Assessment and Application Agency (BPPT).

"The groundbreaking is expected to happen in early 2014, and the constriction is estimated to take 1.5 to two years," Edi said.

Businessmen have repeatedly complained about the traffic of goods in almost every port in Indonesia. Benny Sutrisno, Chairman of the Indonesian Exporters Association, said that the country's port infrastructure has hampered the national export performance.

"The congestion at Tanjung Priok Port remains unsolved. Exporters are unable to do anything about it," he said.

DIANANTA P SUMEDI (SURABAYA) | ANANDA TERESIA