As a national strategic project, the Port of Kuala Tanjung draws significant attention at national and international level. Considering the semi-greenfield nature of the port, the diverse set of stakeholders, and the prevailing disruptive trends in the world port business, a robust first-phase port layout is required to kick-start the project and guarantee the overall sustainability of the port development. The objective of this research is to identify any uncertain or disruptive trends, both present and future, and access their implications towards the Port of Kuala Tanjung. Adaptive Port Planning (APP) frameworka will be used as the main methodology in this research. A combination of a literature review and interviews with experts are used to both identify the sources of the uncertain and disruptive trends mentioned above and also to propose adaptation strategies. Based on our qualitative study and interviews with experts, we have concluded that the consolidation of major shipping lines, multi-nationality partnerships, Indonesian regulation, and ship breaking regulations are currently the four most relevant contributions to uncertain and disruptive trends towards the port. To mitigate potential risk and seize opportunity provided by these trends, an industrial port complex concept might become the most promising alternative.