Batam, home to several ports, is developing the supporting facilities at Batu Ampar Port to improve its performance as part of efforts to lure investors. Under the plan, Batu Ampar Port, which is developed and operated by the Badan Pengusahaan (BP) Batam, is set to have a container yard with an area of 112 ha, a warehouse with an area of 4.52 ha and a pier with a total length of 2.9 km, which is expected to serve containers up to a capacity of 5 million TEUs per year.

The entire development phase of Batu Ampar (2021-2035) requires an investment of Rp 12.77 trillion (US$898.4 million). Throughout 2020, the container capacity served by Batu Ampar Port reached 518,000 TEUs. Batu Ampar Port has two closed warehouse facilities at the south pier with an area of 7580 m2 and 9101 m2.
While reviewing the progress of cleaning and preparing the container dock at Batu Ampar Port, BP Batam chairman Muhammad Rudi stated, “We are in the process of purchasing cranes for Batu Ampar Port, which are expected to arrive in the next one-and-a-half years. With the current manual cranes, containers can be loaded and unloaded at a speed of only 8 TEUs per hour, but with the new cranes, it will be 20 TEUs per hour.”

BP Batam
Batam was designated by the central government to facilitate Pertamina’s logistics and operational base in the 1970s. Based on Presidential Decree No. 41/1973, Otorita Batam (currently BP Batam) has been appointed as the developer and operator of Batam ports, namely Batu Ampar, Kabil, Nongsa and Sekupang, to increase foreign trade and facilitate the flow of loading and unloading activities of goods to support the development of Batam as an industrial region.

Since the beginning, Batu Ampar Port has had three piers including east, south and north piers to support logistics supplies in Batam city. The East Pier was first built in 1969, and continued with the construction of the south and north piers in 1972. The following year, the new South Pier was built with a length of 275 meters. In 2014, the North Pier was developed with the construction of a new 707-meter pier.

BP Batam manages four types of terminals: five general terminals designated for general cargo, containers, liquid and dry bulk in Batu Ampar, Beton Sekupang, Curah Cair Kabil, Sarana Citra Nusa and Roro Sekupang; two domestic passenger terminals for passengers in Sekupang and Telaga Punggur;  five international passenger terminals for passengers, in Sekupang, Harbourbay, Batam Center, Nongsa and Teluk Senimba; and 93 special terminals for shipyards, oil base logistics and marine construction in Sekupang, Tanjung Uncang, Sagulung, Batu Ampar and Kabil.
 BP Batam also manages other cargo ports, including the Kabil Liquid Bulk Port, which serves to load and unload liquid bulk goods, such as palm oil in Kabil village and Nongsa district. This public port was built in 1987 with an old pier length of 420 meters and a pool depth of 12 m LWS, which can accommodate ships with a capacity of 35,000 DWT.

In terms of revenue in 2020, BP Batam ports generated Rp 334.70 billion ($23.5 million). BP Batam will continually develop Batam Ports and other infrastructure to build trust and attract investors with the support from the central government to make Batam an investment destination in Indonesia and the Asia Pacific.

Sources: https://www.thejakartapost.com/adv/2021/09/24/batu-ampar-port-as-the-heart-of-batams-economy.html