Ship Maintenance at PAL Saves Foreign Exchange

INDUSTRY.co.id - Surabaya - Minister of National Development Planning / Head of National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Bambang Brodjonegoro appreciated PT PAL Indonesia's efforts to focus on ship maintenance infrastructure as it reduces foreign exchange expenditure abroad.

"We appreciate the board of directors of PT PAL Indonesia which has enlarged the focus on ship maintenance, because maintenance is the most important part of the ship industry itself," said Bambang in Surabaya on Thursday (225/1/2018)

Bambang met after monitoring a number of ship construction projects at East Dock PT PAL Indonesia Surabaya admitted ship maintenance is usually done overseas, but with the ability of PT PAL Indonesia today, it can be done in the country.

"This means it can also be income for PT PAL Indonesia, while reducing foreign exchange expenditure abroad," he said.

Bambang pointed out, one of them is the standard maintenance of the submarine which is done every five years abroad, which cost about 40 million US dollars.

"With the efforts of PT PAL Indonesia it can be done domestically, and become an income for PT PAL Indonesia, of course at a cost of under 40 million US dollars," he told the media crew.

However, Bambang said, the main thing in the concept of maintenance is the technology that can be developed in the country, because the mastery of technology is certainly more expensive than the maintenance itself.

"With the mastery of technology, in the future there must be a market opportunity of course not only for submarines but other similar vessels, and this good market can be for the ASEAN region because the reach is very close," he said.

On a visit to PT PAL Indonesia, Bambang also conducted some monitoring to the submarine and saw some of the work process of warship order of the Ministry of Defense.

"This visit is to ensure medium-term priority programs, one of which is the empowerment of the defense industry and that one of them is PT PAL Indonesia," he said.

Bambang is optimistic with PT PAL's achievement so far Indonesia in the future will no longer depend on overseas, because able to perform maintenance and ship building independently.

Meanwhile, Director of Shipbuilding Turitan Indaryo said the same thing related to the optimism of PT PAL Indonesia's future achievement, because some foreign ship orders have been done in a timely manner.

"So far, we are very concerned about the quality and speed of production, and very commitment in producing the right ship quality and appropriate," he said.