Soekarno Hatta Airport to have zone of bonded logistic center

State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II through its subsidiary PT Angkasa Pura Kargo is preparing the opening a zone of bonded logistic center (PLB) in the Soekarno Hatta International Airport.

The bonded logistic center would facilitate cargo transport and improve the countrys competitiveness in global air cargo industry, Angkasa Pura II President Director Muhammad Awaluddin said in a statement here on Saturday.

Awaluddin said the PLB would have three units in the Jakartas airport including in Warehouse I about 1,500 square meter wide, Warehouse II about 10,000 square meter wide to be built in 2018, and Warehouse III to be built in the Cargo Village in the airport 10,000 square meter wide to be built in 2019.

He said the most potential market of the bonded logistic center is aircraft spare parts. The spare parts could be piled up in the warehouses of the PLB and clearance could be made there if imported spare parts are to be brought outside.

“The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is not far from the Tanjung Priok port that it is right to build the zone of bonded logistic center there,” he said.

The PLB will also help improve efficiency and save logistic cost for the business players, he said.

Airlines would benefit from the PLB that provides safe places for their spare parts that could be used any time repairs are needed immediately, he said.

“The PLB could earn up to Rp2.5 trillion a year from the warehousing service for aircraft spare parts,” he said .

In building the PLB zone, PT Angkasa Pura II will cooperate with related agencies including the Customs and Excise office, airlines, forwarders, banks , etc.

Head of the Main Service Office of Customs and Excise of Type C in Soekarno-Hatta Erwin Situmorang expressed support for the opening of PLB in the airport complex by PT. Angkasa Pura II.

“With the operation of PLB. industries do not have to rely on imports for basic materials they need . They could now rely on PLB,” Erwin said.

He said PLB would reduce logistic cost and cut the waiting time for industries and open business opportunity in warehousing at the airport complex.

The airport complex could grow to become a logistic hub in Asia Pacific.

The opening of PLB is one of the messages of the governments second economic policy package issued early last year, when the president officially commissioned 11 units of PLB.

Digitalization will also be applied in the operation of the PLB to be opened in the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport through the smartphone application provided by Angkasa Pura Kargo.