Coal mining company PT Bukit Asam (PTBA), State-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) and cement producer PT Semen Baturaja (SMBR) havestruck a deal to increase the coal and cement loading and unloading capacity of the Kertapati Area in Palembang, South Sumatra.
The memorandum of understanding of the agreement was signed by PTBA Director of Business Development Rafli Yandra, KAI Director of Business Development & Institutions Rudi As Aturridh, and SMBR Director of Operations Muhammad Syafitri in a ceremony held at the SIG Office in Mega Kuningan Business District in SouthJakarta on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.
PTBA Director of Business Development, Rafli Yandra, said that this synergy is part of the company’s efforts to increase coal transportation capacity.
“This collaboration is a strategic step for us to strengthen the logistics and infrastructure capacity. By increasing logistics capacity, we can contribute more to providing non-stop energy for the country,” Rafli said in a statement as quoted on Thursday, October 24, 2024.
With coal reserves of 2.98 billion tons and resources of 5.81 billion tons, PTBA is one of the largest coal wealth managers in Indonesia. Increasing logistics capacity is an important step in accelerating the monetization of coal reserves and maintaining national energy security.
Suherman Yahya, President Director of SMBR, said that this collaboration is expected to strengthen sustainability of the supply of energy raw materials, contribute to operational efficiency and subsequently have a positive impact on the regional economy and national infrastructure development.
The collaboration is meant to increase coal transport capacity in Kertapati with a target completion in 2027. Expanding the coal and cement loading and unloading areas in Palembang City is part of the efforts to support national energy and infrastructure needs.
KAI President Director Didiek Hartantyo said the railway company recorded positive performance in freight transportation during the period of January to September 2024, where KAI transported 50,987,328 tons of goods, or an eight-percent increase from the same period last year of 47,174,683 tons.
Coal transportation dominates with a total of 40,828,696 tons or 80 percent of KAI’s total freight transportation. Freight transportation by train has various advantages such as punctuality, safety, large capacity, free from illegal levies, and managed by professional human resources.
“Freight transportation by train offers more efficient logistics costs, reduces delivery time and pollution, thus supports environmental sustainability,” Didiek said.
