Porodisa to set up cement plant in E. Kalimantan

Porodisa to set up cement plant in E. Kalimantan

JAKARTA (JP): PT Porodisa Semen Indonesia will soon set up a
cement factory with an annual production capacity of one million
tons in East Kalimantan, a company executive said yesterday.

A director of Porodisa, Sutrisno, said in East Kalimantan's
capital city of Samarinda that the company is still clearing 500
hectares of land in the Sangkulirang district in Kuta regency for
the construction of the plant.

He said the company will invest Rp 5 billion (US$2.27 million)
to build the plant, which is expected to employ about 2,000
workers, including 50 foreign experts.

"Around 600,000 tons of the factory's production will be
supplied to the local market and the remaining 40 percent will be
exported," he was quoted by Antara as saying. He added that the
company will also set up a power plant with a generating capacity
of 25 megawatts to support the cement factory.

The cement is expected to check the accute cement shortage in
the province.

East Kalimantan, which presently relies on other provinces to
fulfill its cement needs, suffers from a cement shortage of
between 100,000 tons and 150,000 tons annually.

In the 1995-96 fiscal year ending in March, the cement demand
in the province is expected to reach 461,368 tons. It will
increase to about 800,000 tons in 1998-99. (hen)