Van Oord Returns to Surabaya Indonesia Port Access Channel
Indonesian port company PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III (Persero) has contracted Van Oord for dredging and maintenance work in the western access channel to the port of Surabaya in Indonesia. The contract is worth more EUR 50 million ($695 million). The project started in May and will last 10 months followed by a twoyear maintenance period.
Van Oord has been working in the port of Surabaya since 1911. The original project involved making the port accessible to vessels with a deeper draught and building quay walls.
The new dredging will widen the existing channel to 150 meters (about 492 feet) and deepen it to 13 meters (about 42.7 feet). A total of more than 10 million cubic meters (about 13.1 cubic yards) will be removed and deposited offshore. Also one or two shipwrecks must be removed for the project. Van Oord will be deploying two trailing suction hopper dredges.
Surabaya is the capital of Eastern Java and the second largest city in Indonesia. The city lies on the northern shore of the island at the mouth of the Kalimas River and is an important port. The widening and deepening of the access channel will boost economic development of the port. This contract is the second assignment for Van Oord in Surabaya. In November 2013 in the presence of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte a contract was signed for the construction of a business park.
Melanie Schultz van Haegen the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment led a mission to Jakarta and Surabaya from March 30 to April 4 during which the latest contract was signed.
The visit was a follow-up to the mission to Jakarta led by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in November 2013. The aim was to intensify existing collaboration between both countries regarding water management and port development
Van Oord is involved in several projects in Indonesia. In 2013 the company started building a large container port in Tanjung Priok Jakarta which will spur economic growth in Indonesia. (See related article in the IDR Jan/Feb 2014 issue page 36).
Van Oord is also involved in the construction of a reclamation island intended for the expansion of the city of Jakarta as part of the Kapuk Naga Indah development plan. In Surabaya Van Oord is also working on the construction of a business park the Java Integrated Industrial Port Estate and the expansion of the harbor for the Manyar Port Terminal. On the island of Sumatra Van Oord is carrying out maintenance on the access channel to the port of Bengkulu.
