HMI to start palm oil plantations

HMI to start palm oil plantations

JAKARTA (JP): PT Himpurna Mitra International (HMI) and
Lumivest Resources of Malaysia will establish oil palm
plantations on 11,900 hectares of land in West Sumatra, where
production is expected to begin in the year 2000.

"The plantation project will need an investment of US$50
million," HMI's president, Edward A. Lee, said after signing
agreements yesterday on palm oil plantations and gold mining
projects between HMI, Lumivest, Macmahon Limited of Australia and
Crystal Hill of Canada.

Edward said that the project will be 85 percent owned by
Lumivest Resources and 15 percent by HMI.

"If everything goes well, we will be able to produce 36,000
tons of crude palm oil per year starting in 2000. After four
years the production capacity will probably increase to 60,000
tons per year," he said.

He said 75 percent of the plantations' production will be
exported and the other 25 percent will be sold on the domestic
market.

As for the gold project, HMI's project director, Priyo
Pribadi, explained that his company and the other three foreign
partners are still surveying prospective locations in Kalimantan
and Sumatra.

The three foreign partners are committed to providing a fund
of between US$200,000 and US$350,000 as well as mining experts
for the survey. (13)