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.