KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) III acquired shares of a private entity in PT Alur Pelayaran Barat Surabaya (APBS). The Surabaya West Shipping Channel is a joint venture between Pelindo III and a Dutch dredging contractor, Van Oord, and a national private company, PT Gerbang Samudera Utama (GSU).

Previously Pelindo III owned 60% of APBS shares through its subsidiary, Pelindo Marine Service (PMS). The remaining shares are owned by Van Oord and GSU amounting to 20% each. "Pelindo III has acquired 15% of the shares of Van Oord and GSU respectively. So now Pelindo III has full control with 90% of shares," said Putut Sri Muljanto, Managing Director of Pelindo Marine Service in his official statement on Friday (4/20). In 2015, Pelindo III completed a revitalization project for the Surabaya West Shipping Channel with a work value of up to US $ 73 million. The 25-mile stretch is sea access to Tanjung Perak Port and Gresik Port, East Java, developed into 150 meters wide with a depth of -13 meters LWS (low water spring). Initially the channel has a width of 100 meters and a depth of about -9.5 meters LWS. The expansion allows the port to accommodate ships with greater weight.

According to Pelindo III records, the number of ships passing through APBS during 2016 was 1,105 units, equivalent to the total weight of the ship, which reached more than 27 million gross tons. In 2017, the number of vessels was 2,857 units or equivalent to more than 53 million gross tons of ships. So it recorded an increase of 158.5% year on year (yoy) for the flow of ships and 96.3% (yoy) for ship weights. "The majority shareholding in APBS makes Pelindo III more agile to make business decisions," said Pelindo III CEO Ari Askhara on the same occasion. Moreover, Ari added, Pelindo III is currently integrating the development of Tanjung Perak Port and Gresik Port in the concept of Great Surabaya Metropolitan Port. "Some terminals in Tanjung Perak Port have been reconfigured according to the type of commodity to increase the productivity of loading and unloading. Then the traffic (flow) of the ship will be increasingly crowded through APBS, so the business potential is getting bigger," said Ari