Japan signs Rp 14.2T loan agreement for Patimban

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS - JAKARTA. The Japanese government has signed a loan agreement for Rp 14.2 trillion (US$1.04 billion) to fund the Indonesia-Japan flagship Patimban deep seaport project in Subang, West Java.

The total investment for the project is Rp 17.2 trillion, said Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Indonesia Office senior representative Tomoyuki Kawabata on Monday in Jakarta, adding that land acquisition and taxes were not included in the loan agreement.

“The loan that has been signed covers 83 percent of the total project value,” he said at the Japanese embassy on Monday, as reported by kompas.com.

One of the requirements for the loan disbursement is that the project should be constructed by a Japanese firm or an Indonesian company that has a partnership with a Japanese firm.

The 40-year loan carries a 0.1 percent interest rate and a 12-year grace period.

Meanwhile, Japanese Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia Kozo Honsei said the Patimban Port project was in the detailed design phase. “The soft launch of the vehicle terminal is targeted for March 2019,” he said.

He added that the Japanese and Indonesian governments were negotiating who would be appointed as the port operator.

Transportation Ministry secretary-general Sugihardjo said the winning bidders of the construction tender would be announced in March 2018, while construction on the port was expected to start in April 2018.

The government is now focusing on acquiring land for the project, with the acquisition process to be completed in December 2017 or by February 2018.