The Port of Rotterdam Authority has signed a partnership agreement with the Indonesian Port Corporation Pelindo I in Medan, North Sumatra, for the development of the new deep-sea port in Kuala Tanjung.

The authority will now carry out a feasibility study for the new port together with Pelindo I. A project organisation will be created for this purpose that will include a number of the authority’s employees locally and based in Rotterdam.

Depending on the outcome of this feasibility study, the Rotterdam port operator will assess whether it will enter into a joint venture with Pelindo I for the further realisation of the port.

”We want to share our knowledge in the construction, development and management of Kuala Tanjung. We are confident that the Port Authority and Pelindo I will form a strong team that will serve the country and provide for a better future” the Rotterdam Port Authority’s CEO Allard Castelein said.

Kuala Tanjung, a proposed site for the new deep-sea port, is located near the city of Medan in the Strait of Malacca, one of the busiest shipping routes in the world.

Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo has made strengthening of the country’s maritime sector a spearhead of his policy in order to promote economic growth, and Kuala Tanjung is one of the main projects in the national maritime strategy.

(From: World Maritime News)