Cement plant for Kupang

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): PT Semen Osin, a joint venture of an Indonesian company and a Belgian company, will build a Rp 400 billion (US$169 million) cement factory in Bolok, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, an official said here yesterday.

The governor's assistant, Alo Jong Joko, said PT Pembangunan Timor Raya and its Belgian partner, which he refused to name, would start building the cement factory next month.

"The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled to be presided by Governor Herman Musakabe," he said.

A source at Pembangunan Timor told The Jakarta Post the factory would cost around Rp 400 billion.

He said the joint venture held a 10,000-hectare concession containing enough raw material to make cement for 200 years.

Alo said the factory would employ 2,500 workers and produce one million tons of cement a year: 60 percent would be sold domestically and 40 percent would be exported.

The province's first cement factory, run by state-owned PT Semen Kupang, produces 180,000 tons of cement yearly, but its capacity is expected to be increased to 270,000 tons a year.

Semen Kupang plans to build a second plant with an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons.

Another company, PT Semen Fatoleo Permai, also planned to develop a cement factory in the province, but the firm was yet to be licensed by the local administration, he said. (yac/jsk)