PTBA to increase capacity of Kertapati jetty

By Brigida Ernestina Elu Wea

IDX-listed coal mining firm PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) said it will increase the coal handling capacity of its Kertapati jetty in Palembang, South Sumatra, this year as the company anticipates rising sales particularly on expected rising demand from key domestic customer of state-owned electricity firm PT PLN.

PTBA Corporate Secretary Joko Pramono said on Friday the capacity of the Kertapati jetty will be increased to 3.7 million tons from the current 2.5 million tons. He said that the expansion project is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

He said that the plan has been covered under the company?s 2016 capital expenditure.

Joko added that going forward, the Kertapati jetty will undergo further expansion of capacity including a target to expand it to 5.7 million tons next year.

Aside from Kertapati jetty, PTBA also owns the Tarahan coal terminal in Lampung with capacity of 25 million tons.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak