Aceh to export cement

JAKARTA (JP): PT Semen Andalas Indonesia in Aceh will export 9,000 tons of cement to Sri Lanka later this month after the company obtains an export license, the company's director of production Sulantoro said yesterday.

Sulantoro said in Banda Aceh, on the northernmost coast of Sumatra, that the company will also resume exports to Singapore and Brunei.

Sulantoro said that Sri Lanka and Brunei used to be the biggest cement importers of Semen Andalas. They used to import an average of 250,000 tons per year from Semen Andalas until 1993, when the Indonesian government banned cement exports to secure domestic supplies.

Semen Andalas, with an installed annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons, produced 820,000 tons during the first nine months of this year and had about 35,000 tons ready for export. (04)