Asahan not to boost output

Asahan not to boost output

TOKYO (Reuters): Nippon Asahan Aluminium Co Ltd said yesterday that operation rates at its smelter in Indonesia remained reduced as recent rainfall had failed to boost water levels at a lake that supplies power to the plant.

"Rain fell on the smelter, but not over the lake. Nothing has changed the severe water situation," an official at Nippon Asahan, which owns 59 percent of PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium, told Reuters.

He said water levels at Lake Toba had fallen to just a few cm above the minimum permitted level of 902.40 metres.

The official said Nippon Asahan was still in talks with the Indonesian government over production levels at the smelter for 1998/99 which started on April 1. No decision had yet been made, he said.

It had originally planned to produce 175,100 tons in the current business year, against its capacity of around 220,000 tons, but falling water levels had forced Asahan to reduce production this year.

The smelter in north Sumatra has not disclosed how many furnaces were out of operation as a result of falling water levels at Lake Toba.