Pelindo II to join bidding in February or March, Some companies express interest in teaming up as Patimban port operator
State-owned port operator PT Pelindo II has earmarked Rp 2 trillion (US$140 million) from its capital expenditure (capex) this year to take part in a bidding for Patimban port operatorship.
Located in Subang, West Java, the port development, worth $3 billion in total, is one of the flagship projects between Indonesia and long-time major investor Japan.
For 2018, Pelindo II has allocated Rp 11.4 trillion in capex, all of which will be sourced internally.
Pelindo II president director Elvyn Massaya said it was ready to join in the bidding process, which may begin in February or March, and had prepared the necessary capital.
To become the operator of the port, a company is required to provide 10 percent of the project’s total value of Rp 40 trillion.
Indonesia os set to hold a majority share of 51 percent in the operatorship, while Japan will control 45 percent.
“Of the Rp 4 million, Indonesia’s portion is 51 percent. We have the cash (to cover the requirement),” Elvyn said on Wednesday.
He added that Pelindo II had some offerungs from other companies eager to become its partners in a consortium to manage the port, but declined to specify the names.
The Patimban port will be situated around 70 kilometers from the Karawang Industrial Estate and Bekasi in West Java, where many Japanese firms, especially automotive producers, set up their manufacturing facilitites.
The construction of a car terminal is part of the development plan of the port.
Late last year, Indonesia and Japan inked a loan agreement that will pave the way for the latter to disburse 118.9 billion yen in funds to kick off the project.
The funds will be used to cover the first phase of the project, which wil consist of the construction of an 8.1-km access road to the port, a terminal, a bridge and a back-up area.
In separate development, Pelindo II and fellow state-owned port operators PT Pelindo I, PT Pelindo III and PT Pelindo IV plan to merge their subsidiaries as an initial step in the formation of a port management holding company.
At present, each of them controls subsidiaries in various areas, such as marine service, terminal management and supporting services.
The merger of the marine service business units would become the priority for this year, Elvyn said.
Pelindo III seeks to unite its marine service subsidiary, PT Jasa Armada Indonesia, and PT Pelindo Marine Service (PMS), the subsidiary of Pelindo III, which has a large presence in Sulawesi.
“The merger will expand our operational areas. While each of our subsidiaries now operates in the areas under each Pelindo, they will need to cover all areas in Indonesia after the merger.
Other than the merger plan, Pelindo II expects to list two of its 12 subsidiaries in the bourse with the initial public offerings (IPOs) targeted this year.
PT Indonesia Kendaraan Terminal (IKT) is set to go public in the first half of this year, while PT Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok (PTP) is scheduled to do so in the second half.
On Wednesday, Pelindo I signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Agrarian and Land Spatial Planning Ministry in Jakarta on solving land conflicts in the port area.
Agrarian and Land Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil said in the past, the state used to neglect its land, which was later occupied by another party.
“We will focus on reclaiming the state’s assets in the SOEs (state-owned enterprises), especially Pelindos, which have much land,’ said Sofyan.