The signing of the MoU by ITS Rector Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng (two from the right) with the President Director of PT Garam (Persero) Achmad Ardianto (two from left)

ITS Campus, ITS News – Until now, the activities of the salt industry in Indonesia still encounter many obstacles, one of which is the problem of quality and quantity of production. Facing this problem, PT Garam (Persero) invited the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase the productivity of the salt industry in Indonesia, Thursday (3/12).

Taking place in the Senate Meeting Room of the ITS Rectorate Building, this MoU was signed directly by ITS Rector Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng and President Director of PT Garam (Persero) Achmad Ardianto. The MoU’s signing was also attended by the Operations Director of PT Garam (Persero) Hartono.

In his opening speech, Achmad Ardianto said that salt is a necessity in various sectors of life. “The salt industry in Indonesia is a source of livelihood for the community,” said the man who is usually called Didi.

Unfortunately, continued Didi, the quality of salt is not optimal, and the price instability of locally produced salt has often made many parties switch to using imported salt. Therefore, more efforts are needed to build a national salt ecosystem that can improve the Indonesian people’s welfare.

As one of the strategic partners of salt farmers in Indonesia, PT Garam (Persero) has launched a collaboration with the ITS Directorate of Research and Community Service (DRPM) through the ITS Directorate of Cooperation and Business Management (DKPU). “Cooperation is needed from various parties, one of which is ITS to create premium quality products and have a good ecosystem,” said Didi.

This collaboration aims to do leveling mapping using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology and terrestrial mapping, which will be carried out by the Research Center for Science of Marine and Earth Technology DRPM and the ITS Geomatics Engineering Department under the coordination of DKPU ITS.

The mapping, which aims to increase salt processing effectiveness, will be carried out on an area of ​​1,100 hectares in Sampang Regency and an area of ​​2,500 hectares located in Sumenep Regency owned by PT Garam (Persero).

Main Director of PT Garam (Persero) Achmad Ardianto while giving a speech at the signing of the MoU

Meanwhile, ITS Rector Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng explained that this cooperation activity would be implemented soon at the end of December 2020. “At that time, the salt production process was temporarily stopped so that the land could be used for the leveling mapping process,” explained the rector, who is familiarly called Ashari.

It did not stop there; in the signing of this memorandum of understanding, various other opportunities were also discussed, which would become a form of cooperation in the future. The first agenda is the process of monitoring and automating the irrigation sluice at PT Garam (Persero), which will be carried out by the Center for Excellence in Science and Technology (PUI) Mechatronics and Industrial Automations under the coordination of DKPU ITS.

ITS Rector Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng when giving a speech at the signing of the MoU with PT Garam (Persero)

Also, there is a topic of potential utilization of bittern waste (old water) in supporting efforts to zero and safe waste discharge from the processing process at PT Garam (Persero), which will be actualized by the Research Center for Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment DRPM ITS under the coordination of DKPU ITS.

Finally, there will also be an analysis of regional risk studies and their mitigation and a study of the arrangement of the area at PT Garam (Persero) conducted by the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation and Climate Change DRPM ITS under the coordination of DKPU ITS.

(from left) Main Director of PT Garam (Persero) Achmad Ardianto and ITS Rector Prof. Dr. Mochamad Ashari exchanged souvenirs after signing the MoU at ITS

Welcoming various strategic partnerships with open arms, Ashari hopes that ITS can continue to spread seeds of goodness and things that are beneficial to the people of Indonesia and for the institution itself. “There are still many things that can be done; hopefully, the cooperation goes well and is right on target,” said the ITS professor of Electrical Engineering. (rys/man/ITS Public Relations)