Honda to build new plant in RI
Honda to build new plant in RI
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Japan's second-largest car maker Honda Motor Co. Ltd., said on
Friday that it would invest US$64 million in a new spare parts
manufacturing plant in Indonesia.
The new plant, to be known as PT Honda Precision Parts
Manufacturing, is expected to produce some 250,000 automatic
transmission and continuously variable transmission (CVT)
products and around 500,000 sets of engine valves a year.
Visiting president and CEO of Honda Motor Hiroyuki Yoshino
said here that most of these products would be exported to meet
growing demand in Asian and European markets.
"This (investment) is significant because it is the first time
that Honda has produced these components in Asia outside Japan,
and automatic transmissions are generally recognized as one of
the highest-precision automobile components," Yoshino told a
media conference.
Yoshino and his top aides from Japan were in Jakarta to mark a
breaking-of-the-ground ceremony for the new plant.
The plant, to be located at Bukit Indah Industrial Park, about
70 kilometers southeast of Central Jakarta, will begin production
in the middle of 2003, he said.
He predicted that the plant would need to employ over 900
workers when it reached full production.
"In addition to this, five of our Japanese-Indonesia joint-
venture parts suppliers will also invest another $55 million in
total, creating an additional 1,000 jobs to support PT Honda
Precision Parts Manufacturing's operation," he said.
Six months ago, Honda started the construction of an
automobile manufacturing plant in West Java.
"Todays's announcement underlines Honda's strong commitment to
the long-term development of Indonesia's automotive industry,"
Yoshino said.
Honda Prospect Motor, the sole agent for Honda in Indonesia,
started building a new plant in January in Karawang, West Java,
involving a total investment of about $30 million.
The plant is hoped to produce about 40,000 Honda Stream
minivans by March 2003. The company also unveiled plans to export
its Honda Stream to Thailand.