AKR to increase 2010 fuel distribution by 35 percent

IDX-listed fuel distributor and logistics firm PT AKR Corporation will allocate US$40-50 million in capital expenditures next year to increase the capacity of its fuel distribution facilities.

AKR plans to increase its fuel distribution business by between 30 and 35 percent next year. With this target, the company expects to distribute 1.35 million kiloliters (kl), an increase from about 1 million kl this year.

AKR?s director Suresh Vembu said in Jakarta on Monday that the company was currently building a fuel storage with a capacity of 250,000 kl in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

?We hope the new storage can be completed by the end of this year. This is part of the first stage of the storage development plan in Tanjung Priok,? he said, adding that the company would begin the second stage of the project next year by building a new tank storage with a capacity of 200,000 kl.

Suresh said that AKR also planned to build more fuel storages in Sumatra and Kalimantan to support the increase in the subsidized distribution business in the two islands. ?We plan to build storage facilities with a capacity of up to 80,000 kl outside Jakarta,? he said. (kanti)