The government is expecting the immediate construction of three new cement plants worth US$481.2m after the issuance of investment permits to three foreign investors, the Investor Daily reported quoting Minister of Industry Andung Nitimihardja. "The foreign investors will team up with local partners. At the latest, they will realise (their investments) next year," Investor quoted Nitimihardja as saying. The Ministry of Industry’s Director for Downstream Chemicals Tony Tanduk said the three foreign investors will build the cement plants under the names PT Semen Gombong, PT Semen Semail Bangun Harjo and PT Semen Baloki, Investor reported. It also quoted the ministry’s cement industry division head Achmad Sigit as saying that Semen Gombong plans to build cement plant worth US$300m, with an annual capacity of 2.5Mt in the Gombong district in Central Java. He said Semen Gombong’s investors are still looking for partners to start construction.
Semen Semail Bangun Harjo’s cement plant is expected to be built in Manokwari in Papua with an annual output of 100,000t. While Semen Baloki’s cement plant is expected to be built in Central Sulawesi with an annual output of 1.5Mt at a cost of US$180m, he added. Government officials have been forecasting a shortage in cement supply, unless new capacity is built. Indonesia’s largest cement producer PT Semen Gresik earlier said it expects 2005 cement demand to rise 10 per cent from the 30Mt seen in 2004, as the government plans to launch massive infrastructure projects this year.
