The development of PT Indocement's project for a greenfield plant in Pati regency, Central Java, which was scheduled to start in 2016, is now likely be postponed for two years, according to a company executive.

“Although currently its environmental impact analysis [Amdal] document has been completed and only has just to wait for permission from the regent, its construction is expected to commence in 2018,” PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa vice president director, Franciscus Welirang, said after a discussion session in Kudus, Central Java, on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency.

Meanwhile, Husaini, the Society for Health, Education, Environment and Peace (SHEEP) Indonesia’s Central Java area manager, said that Indocement should have settled social and natural issues before it made the Amdal. Around 60 per cent of the local communities had rejected the development of the plant, which would be developed by PT Sahabat Mulia Sakti (SMS), one of Indocement’s subsidiaries, Husaini said.

“If those two issues have not been settled yet, later there will be problems during the [development] process,” he added.

According to Mr Welirang, there are still a lot of phases, including land acquisition, that must be passed. However, he said the postponement of the plant’s development would not have a significant impact on investment ballooning because there was no huge investment that had been disbursed by Indocement for the project.

He also added that currently the company was focussing on channelling its investment to a cement plant in Citeureup, Bogor, West Java, which had commenced operation.