Port of Belawan
North Sumatra, Indonesia

World port ranking (by 2008 volume)
#141 in total containerized tonnage
(Source: Containerisation International)

Trading with Tacoma
(based on 2009 volumes, value in U.S. dollars)

Value of trade between Indonesia and Tacoma (in U.S. dollars):

• Two-way trade = $310.9 million
  Ranks #7 among Port of Tacoma's international trading partners 
• Exports = $193.1 million
  Ranks #6 among Port of Tacoma's export trading partners 
• Imports = $117.8 million
  Ranks #9 among Port of Tacoma's import trading partners

Top 5 exports from Port of Tacoma to Indonesia (value in U.S. dollars)

1. Oil seeds, misc. grain, seed, fruit - $85 million (234,644 short tons)
2. Food industry residue; prepared animal food - $34.5 million (97,750 short tons)
3. Iron and steel - $28.9 million (116,907 short tons)
4. Dairy product, eggs, other edible animal products - $20.9 million (12,902 short tons)
5. Edible vegetables, roots and tubers - $3.7 million (10,980 short tons)

Top 5 imports from Indonesia to Port of Tacoma (value in U.S. dollars)

1. Furniture - $23.0 million (9,160 short tons)
2. Optic, photo; medical/surgical instruments - $16.3 million (512 short tons)
3. Electrical machinery/electronics - $7.2 million (1,464 short tons)
4. Wood products - $7.1 million (6,766 short tons)
5. Rubber and rubber products - $6.7 million (1,826 short tons)

About the Port of Belawan 

Location
Belawan lies at the estuary of the Deli and Belawan rivers on the northeast coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.

The port serves the nearby city of Medan and is the busiest port in Indonesia outside Java. Dredged by the Dutch in the early 20th Century, the port exports manufactured goods and Sumatra's natural resources. A ferry service connects the Port of Belawan to Penang, Malaysia, and Sutan, Thailand.

History
The Port of Belawan was built in 1890 to move tobacco between the railway and ocean-going vessels. In 1907, a new section was created for native and Chinese traders, and the original port was used for foreign shipping.

Cargoes expanded in the early 20th Century when plantations in northern Sumatra began exporting palm oil and rubber. New berthing facilities were constructed during the 1920s, and by 1938, it was the Dutch East Indies' largest port. After Indonesian independence in the 1940s, cargo volumes dropped significantly. Belawan did not reach its colonial cargo traffic volumes until the 1960s.

In 1985, the Port of Belawan was restructured and established a new container terminal that was quickly handling a fifth of all containerized exports from Indonesia. Those exports include rubber, tea, palm oil, and coffee.

Land and infrastructure
Belawan's facilities include four major wharves:

• Belawan Lama (688.7 meters) - Storage and handling facilities with 5,000 square meters of covered space and 11,500 square meters of open yards. 
• Ujung Baru (1555.8 meters) - 38,500 square meters of covered space and 19,200 square meters of open yards, plus 1,500 square meters of covered space at Ujung Baru Lini II.
• The ferry wharf (115.0 meters)
• Citra wharf (635.0 meters) - 16,800 square meters of covered space and 25,200 square meters of open yards.
• IKD wharf (150.0 meters) - 9,400 square meters of open yard

The Port of Belawan's Ferry Terminal at Luar Negeri, for outgoing traffic, covers 539 square meters and has capacity for 720 people on one trip. The Dalam Negeri, for incoming traffic, covers 2.3 thousand square meters and has capacity for 2.2 thousand people.

Management
The Indonesia Port Corporations are state corporations responsible for the governance, regulation, maintenance and operation of Indonesia's ports and harbors. Company numbers correspond to the regional coverage of ports; they are numbered one through four from west (Sumatra) to east (Papua). The corporations are limited-liability, profit-making companies. They have a mandate to involve the private sector in port developments. Belawan's port authority is managed by Indonesia Port Corporate I.

Exchanges between Tacoma and Belawan

September 1982: High levels officials of the Indonesian Port Development attended the dedication of the Port of Tacoma's new office building on Sitcum waterway. Those present included: J. E. Habibie, secretary to the director general of the government's Department of Sea Communications, H. Luntungan, in charge of the World Bank Loans for the Indonesian ports developments, and S. F. Makalew, director of the Port of Belawan.

June 1993: The Port of Belawan requested photographs of Tacoma's executive directors and commissioners from 1980 until 1993, and photos of Port of Tacoma itself for the "Tacoma Room." The special room recognizes the sister port relationship between Tacoma and Belawan.

November 1994: Bustami Kasim, branch manager of the Port of Belawan, requested photos of the Port of Tacoma be posted in Belawan's "Tacoma Room."   

Our other sister ports:  Kaohsiung, Taiwan  |  Kitakyushu, Japan  | Tianjin, China  |  Vladivostok, Russia    

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