Indonesias

Top Port Development

Challenges
Indonesia is a huge archipelago, stretching more than 5000 km from east to west, with
approximately 1700 ports facilitating the flow of trade. However, due to Indonesias enormous
economic growth, its ports are severely under equipped to handle the rising volumes of cargo,
with many already operating at capacity and in urgent need of expansion and modernisation.

The complexity of these projects depends on a variety of factors, both generic to port
development and expansion as well as others specific to Indonesia.

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PORT DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES

1 Suitable land with

water frontage 2 Additional capital
needed for site
preparation
3 Land reclamation
and soil improvement 4 Providing deep water
access - dredging

5 Marine environmental
issues; breakwater
versus operation
downtime
6 Supporting
infrastructure - road
network;
power supply; utilities
7 Local manpower resources
- marine operations
personnel; operations and
maintenance personnel;
8 Local rules
and regulations
safety and security personnel

INDONESIA SPECIFIC CHALLENGES

Significant Indonesian Earthquakes, tsunamis and
swell wave energy Through Flow (ITF) subsequent soil liquefaction

Of these challenges, arguably the most important aspects within the

developers control are the conduct of effective dredging and land
reclamation. These aspects act as the foundation, both literally and
metaphorically, to a successful project since without thorough surveying
and planning of the ground and hydrological conditions underpinning
these actions, a port project will suffer from increased maintenance
costs, downtime or even worse; subsidence and structural failure.

To elucidate the importance of these factors, their causes and strategies

to avoid failures, we take a look at the top port development challenges
facing Indonesia today.

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Creating and Maintaining Sufficient Water Depth
With increasing trade volumes also comes cargo ships of greater capacity and most importantly, size. The draft of vessels
has increased steadily over the decades and only the busiest ports have felt the pressure to keep up. But now with rapid
urbanisation, population growth and trade across the archipelago, both new and existing ports need to plan to provide and
maintain sufficient water depths not just for todays vessels, but those of the near future as well.

Length Draft TEU

First Converted Cargo Vessel 135 m <9m 500

(1956-1970)
Converted Tanker 200 m < 30 ft 800

Second 10 m 1,000-
Cellular Containership 215 m
(1970-1980) 33 ft 2,500

3,000
250 m
Third 11-12 m
Panamax Class
(1980-1988) 36-40 ft
290 m 4,000

Fourth Post Panamax 275 - 11-13 m 4,000-

(1988-2000) 305 m 36-43 ft 5,000

Post Panamax Plus

Fifth 13-14 m 5,000-
335 m 8,000
(2000-2005) 43-46 ft

New Panamax
Sixth 15.5 m 11,000-
397 m 14,500
(2006-) 30 ft

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Effective Pre-Dredging Modelling
Modelling is the pre-requisite of dredging in which bathymetric
data plays a vital role. The types of modelling largely fall into two
categories, physical and mathematical models and their efficacy
will determine whether you identify the potential pitfalls for your
port development project.
The Outcome of Modelling:
Determine the pattern, channel and dredging design
Identify the type of dredger to be used
Calculate the volume of dredged material
Model the flow of water before and after dredging and its port developers and contractors take actions to avoid the
effects on the bank or coast
Assess the environmental condition and potential impact
However, thorough modelling is liable to many of the following
omissions:
Common Omissions from Dredging Projects
Dredging without modelling / unplanned dredging
Failure to assess the dredged material
Improper selection of dumping area
Deployment of unskilled manpower
Release of toxic chemicals into the environment
The consequences of these omissions are serious and can all
too easily pollute the surrounding environment, impacting the
ocean, the air, marine life and even human health. Furthermore,
depending on the location and quantity of dredged material
being dumped, this activity can also lead to maritime accidents.
These omissions are frequently due to a lack of knowledge
amongst the parties involved or the result of gaps in guidelines,
planning and coordination. With the amount of port development
projects going on in Indonesia, it is vital that by identifying the
common omissions and causes of poor dredging practices,
consequences.
Recommendations:
Ensure the use of modern modelling and dredging techniques
Assess dredged materials before and during dredging
activities (especially when materials are to be repurposed
rather than dumped)
Employ and develop skilled personnel in the dredging sector
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Working with Challenging Soil Conditions
Some of the worst soil conditions are concentrated around
navigable bodies of water, thereby making port development
inherently challenging. Fortunately, todays ground improvement
techniques and specialty foundation solutions can be designed
and constructed to overcome the difficulties of working in soft,
uneven and challenging soil conditions.
In port expansion, as with dredging, there can be no proper
marine design without adequate data on soil conditions.
However this procedure is far from simple and requires expert
engineering knowledge and sufficient time to gather the
necessary data.
The effects that must be investigated
and designed include:
Bearing capacity
Settlement (short and long term)
Slope stability
Liquefaction
These findings can be achieved through:
Site investigations
Laboratory analyses
Geotechnical and geological interpretation
One increasingly common challenge facing port developers in
Indonesia is that as ports expand, they find themselves reusing
sites near existing port facilities. Often the ground conditions
of these sites are very poor, being comprised of construction
debris from earlier projects. Now that port development is
spreading across Indonesia and developers are planning project
phases 5 10 years in advance, engineers will have to factor in
these plans and dump construction debris elsewhere in favour
of maintaining soil conditions for later expansion.
Effective Land Reclamation
There is one key question that needs to be asked in all land
reclamation projects, will the newly created ground conditions
be able to bear the structures and equipment of the newly
developed / extended port? The problem in answering this is
that no two projects are the same and this does not just refer
to the port itself, but also the sand being used. The nature of
the fill, its characteristic, the scale of the project all have vital
consequences on the equipment and techniques that must be
used for the project.
Construction Methods for Land Reclamation include:
Transport of fill
Construction reclamation area
Management of poor quality materials
Planning of the works
Design Features of the Reclamation Area that
must be considered:
Strength (bearing capacity, slope stability)
Stiffness (settlement, deformations)
Liquefaction and breaching
Density
In addition to the unique factors of each project, another key
issue is that high quality fill is not always available, meaning
that the engineers just have to work with what they have. Even
so, there can still be additional factors that necessitate ground
improvement techniques, thereby increasing the duration, cost
and technical challenges associated with the project.
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Soil Improvement Techniques
An increasing number of techniques are now available for soil
improvement, but the challenge for engineers is to pick the
correct one for the project and budget. For example, depending
on the project, the use of vertical drains or vibratory, dynamic
or explosive compaction may be appropriate. In other cases,
special fill materials can to improve the subsoil is necessary.
Soil Improvement Techniques
Preloading (with or without vertical drains)
Compaction
Soil replacement
Admixtures
Geo-synthetics
Vibro-floatation
High energy impact compaction
Rapid impact compaction
Polygonal drum rollers
These techniques vary in cost and effectiveness from the
cheapest, installing wick drains, to the most expensive,
adding soil replacement and geo-synthetics. However, as with
all of these challenges, the right decision rests upon expert
knowledge and a detailed understanding of the soil being built
upon.
Indonesia Specific Challenges:
The aforementioned factors are all major problems for port
developers, but the challenges associated with each are
exacerbated by the following Indonesia specific challenges:
Significant Swell Wave Energy
The geography of Indonesia exposes itself to significant swell
wave energy, which has long-term liquefaction effects on the
load baring capabilities of silt, sand and soil. Consequently,
specific wave data is required for each specific location of
port development. This analysis must take into account both
the short-term and long-term wave analysis so to accurately
determine the unique design factors that must be incorporated.
Indonesian Through Flow (ITF)
The ITF is a well documented effect in which the worlds tides,
The Great Ocean Conveyor Belt, pass through Indonesia.
The strong current produced by this phenomenon is however
notoriously difficult to measure due to its variability. Fortunately
numerous organisations produce research on the latest
variations and predictions. This information should be used to
supplement local current measurements, establish probabilistic
scenarios for combined current (and wave) scenarios and
incorporate the findings into port design.
Earthquakes and Tsunami
Indonesia is one of the most active seismic zones on the globe
due to the convergence of three continental plates and nine
smaller plates. Between 1897 - 2009, Indonesia experienced
more than 14,000 earthquakes with M > 5. Equally worrying is
that over the past 400 years, there have been approximately
100 tsunami events and their frequency appears to be
increasing. In fact, between 1960 2007 there have been 22
significant tsunamis, with seismologists projecting this trend to
continue in the near future.
Each of these Indonesia specific risks pose numerous structural
risks to port developments, particularly due to liquefaction.
These effects mean that port developments cannot just be
designed to withstand the environmental impacts of today,
but also more variable and extreme impacts of tomorrow.
Identifying the liquefaction risk and factor of safety is yet
another layer of complexity and cost to port development, but
due to the enhanced risk for port developments in Indonesia, it
must be factored into design.
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 Join Asias port and maritime leaders at:

20 - 23 October 2015, Singapore

Join Asias port and maritime leaders at the 5th Annual Port Development &
Connectivity Asia Forum to discuss port planning and technology solutions. Featuring:

Dato Ir. Haji Khasbullah A. Kadir Tienchai Makthiengtrong Mr. Prasetyadi

Chief Operating Officer Director, Planning Division President Director
Kuantan Port Consortium Sdn. Bhd. Laem Chabang Port PT Terminal Teluk Lamong

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