Korean firm builds mill in Irian Jaya
Korean firm builds mill in Irian Jaya
JAKARTA (JP): The Korea Development Co. Ltd. (Kodeco) has
started work on a US$84 million plywood mill on Yapen island,
north of Irian Jaya, which is scheduled to commence operations
next March.
Kodeco, the oldest and largest Korean investor in Indonesia,
announced yesterday that the plywood plant would have an annual
production capacity of 120,000 cubic meters, including 30,000
cu.m of container floorings.
The project is being carried out by a joint venture company,
PT Kodeco Mamberamo, which is 75 percent owned by Kodeco and 25
percent by PT Sansaporindo.
"We have secured US$54 million in investment loans from
Mitsubishi Bank and the Long Term Credit Bank of Japan," the
Korean company said.
It said the shareholders would put up $18 million in equity
financing while a further $12 million in working capital loans
would come from South Korean banks.
The joint venture company has secured a long-term supply of
wood from nearby forest concessions.
"We will get our logs from PT Mamberamo Alas Mandiri which
owns 700,000 hectares of concessions in the northern part of
Irian Jaya," Kodeco added.
The mill will employ a total of 1,370 staff, including 35
expatriates. Marubeni, also of Japan, will supply most of the
plant machinery and equipment.
Kodeco is the pioneer of Korean investment in Indonesia. The
company began operating in the country's forestry industry in
1968, shortly after the enactment of the 1967 Foreign Investment
Law.
Since then the company has diversified into a wide range of
businesses, including containers, electronics, fisheries, oil and
gas (in Madura) and cement.
The Kodeco cement project in South Kalimantan, with a planned
annual capacity of 2.5 million tons, is a joint venture with
several Indonesian firms, including the country's largest cement
manufacturer, Indocement. The plant is scheduled to start
commercial production in 1997, and will supply the eastern region
and the international market.
Kodeco's KE-5 gas field has been feeding the power generation
plant of the state electricity company in Gresik, East Java.
(vin)