State-owned cement maker PT Semen Gresik in East Java will soon start to build a new cement factory with an annual capacity of 2.5Mta. The new plant is needed to meet the needs of the market, which is predicted to grow by 8.5 per cent annually, State Minister for State Enterprises Sugiharto said last weekend. Construction is expected to start immediately after the plan is sanctioned by its shareholders in a meeting scheduled in February next year. Sugiharto said in principle the government has encouraged PT Semen Gresik to carry out its plan.
PT Semen Gresik with three factories in operation in Tuban has an annual production capacity of 6.9Mta. Including its subsidiaries PT Semen Padang with an annual capacity of 5.57Mt in West Sumatra and PT Semen Tonasa in South Sulawesi with an annual capacity 3.48Mt, the Gresik Group is the largest cement producer in the country.
