Surabaya, E.Java, (Antara) - The national shipyard company, PT PAL Indonesia, is speeding up the manufacturing process of Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ordered by the Indonesian Navy by performing keel laying faster than the plan.
The President Director of PT PAL, Budiman Saleh, here on Monday said the acceleration of the keel laying is expected to complete manufacture by October 2018, which is faster that the plan set on December 28, 2018.
He said the laying process has exceeded the minimum requirements set by MARPOL / SOLAS regulation, that the minimum block weight should be 50 tons or equivalent one to two blocks only.
PT PAL Indonesia currently has laid 12 vessel blocks at once, or equivalent weight of up to over 400 tons.
According to Budiman, of the total five stages of the ship building process, the second phase is four months earlier than the plan on December 28, 2017.
The acceleration step, he added, is done to anticipate the very strict multi-year project target, that is by the end of 2017 PT PAL must be able to achieve a minimum progression of 40 percent.
"The process at the end of July 2017 has reached 21.72 percent of the plan 11.50 percent, or a surplus of 10.22 percent, and we are optimistic to meet the target by the end of the year," he said.
The ship order by the Indonesian Navy will be able to conduct various military operations to strengthen diplomacy in safeguarding and securing Indonesia's outer border areas and the national sovereignty.
The ship ordered on January 11, 2017 worth Rp700 billion is able to carry out humanitarian missions for evacuation, search and rescue, and even function as a mobile government administration office.
The ship is also designed for a coordination center and capable to accommodate up to 771 personnel consisting of crews, troops and passengers. (*)
