This year’s Cemtech Asia Conference and Exhibition, held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Bali Indonesia during the 19-22 June, and before an invited audience of cement specialists from over 24 countries, has been successfully concluded. Hosted by International Cement Review and supported by the Indonesian Cement Association, this important three-day event, brought together a range of experts to debate an array of management, operational and technical issues for the benefit of this international audience. Complementing the two days of presentations was an international exhibition, a half-day technical workshop and excellent hospitality from the Cemtech team. Not surprisingly, this event has now secured its place as one of the leading meetings for the Asian market.
Opening Cemtech Asia, the organisers were honoured to gain the support of KADIN – the Indonesian chamber of Commerce and Industry – and its chairman, Suryo Sulisto who gave a very positive opening speech. In Suryo Sulisto’s view, Indonesia’s economy is strong and growing. With this comes a healthy demand for building materials, especially cement. But in Indonesia, demand outpaces supply and in some parts of the country the price of cement is extremely high. Eastern Indonesia, Papua, Kalimantan and parts of Sumatra desperately need cement factories in order to support the increased development of those areas.
“Second, the government of Indonesia is embarking on a very aggressive infrastructure development programme as part of its recently launched Masterplan 2025 with a predicted US$450bn of projects over the next 15 years. These projects will require cement – huge amounts of it.
“Indonesia’s strong economy leads to high domestic consumption and a building demand for new houses, malls, apartments etc.... We came through the financial crisis relatively unharmed and in 2011 we predict about 6.5 per cent growth, underpinned by strong macroeconomic indicators, abundant natural resources, a large and youthful labour force, our strategic geographic location, increasingly global presence, and a stable political environment for business.
“In 2010 we breached the US$3000 per person GDP threshold, the benchmark indicator of a dynamic and robust economy. By 2015, government predicts we will reach US$5000 per capita GDP. By 2025 it is estimated that we will be one of the 12 richest countries in the world. By 2050, one of the richest five.” Sulisto stressed.
