Pelindo II planning canal project to link industrial areas to Tanjung PriokPelindo II planning canal project to link industrial areas to Tanjung Priok

The 40km Cikarang-Bekasi-Laut canal would cost IDR3.5trn ($246.6m), which includes land acquisition costs as well as expenditure for expanding the width of existing waterways to 70m and draft to 5m, Pelindo II president director RJ Lino said.

The plan envisages 72-teu to 144-teu LNG-powered barges moving boxes from the industrial hinterland to the main gateway at Tanjung Priok Port, Lino said. Pelindo II has completion target for the canal of 2017.

The West Java provincial government has pledged its commitment to expedite permits for the project, seeing it would help alleviate traffic problems in the province’s industrial area.“[Industrial] transportation costs are expensive because [cargo] has to be transported by land using trucks,” said West Java deputy governor Deddy Mizwar.

“On the other hand, a barge can carry 140 containers, which is equivalent to 2.5 km of trucks lining up on our roads.”Deddy said the government has asked Pelindo II to extend the canal to Cikampek, West Java, 20 km south of Cikarang, after 2017.