Freeport Ensures Acceleration of Smelter Repair, Delivers Component by Antonov Aircraft
04 March 2025
Jakarta, March 4, 2025 - PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) has ensured the acceleration of the repair of the PTFI Smelter's Common Gas Cleaning (CGC) Plant facility by gradually bringing critical equipment and components using Antonov AN-124 and Boeing 747 cargo planes to Surabaya and then by land to Gresik, East Java.
"We are making every effort to make the recovery process run effectively and efficiently so that the smelter can return to production as soon as possible. The choice of cargo aircraft is because the travel time for shipping components from abroad is only 35 hours. This is much faster than ships which take about 60 days," PTFI President Director Tony Wenas said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He said the air logistics process is the right solution to save weeks in the CGC Plant repair process. This was crucial as the components were damaged and had to be remanufactured and made available at short notice.
"The Antonov was chosen because some important components such as Wet Electrostatic Precipitator internals (tube bundles) and metal expansion joints manufactured in Germany are too large to be transported by regular cargo aircraft, while sea shipping would take a very long time," he said.
PTFI scheduled three shipments using three Antonov aircraft with a total cargo weight of 75.7 tons. The first component shipment was made on February 6, 2025, followed by the second shipment on February 25, 2025, and the last shipment on March 2, 2025 directly from Frankfurt, Germany, to Juanda Airport, Surabaya. The flight travel time reached 35 hours. In addition to the Antonov cargo aircraft, PTFI also used a Boeing 747 aircraft for the first shipment of components on November 29, 2024 with a total weight of 58 tons.
Tony added that this delivery was the result of an extraordinary synergy between the Freeport Indonesia team and all stakeholders. "Thank you to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Indonesian Navy and Air Force, the Regional Office of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise East Java I, Juanda Customs Office, Customs and Excise Supervision and Service Office Type Madya Customs B Gresik, Special Economic Zone Managers, Customs Service Management Entrepreneurs, and Juanda Airport Authority," he said.
Back To List
