RI to produce 101m tons of cement annually

RI to produce 101m tons of cement annually

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will have 45 cement plants with a
total production capacity of 101 million tons per annum in the
year 2000, said Indonesian Cement Association's chairman
Soepardjo.

"In the year 2000, there will be 22 cement plants in Java,
seven in Sumatra, eight in Kalimantan, three in Sulawesi and five
in the eastern part of Indonesia," he said at the groundbreaking
ceremony of the Indonesian Institute of Cement and Concrete in
Bogor, 60 km south of here, yesterday.

He noted that out of the planned 45 plants, some 36 already
had licenses from the Investment Coordinating Board issued from
1991 to 1995.

According to Soepardjo, there are currently nine cement plants
operating in Indonesia with a total production capacity of 26.5
million tons a year.

PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa's president, Sudwikatmono, said
after the ceremony that the development of the 45 cement plants
is an indication of Indonesia's readiness in facing international
free trade, particularly the ASEAN Free Trade Area in 2003.

"That means that our cement industry will have a bigger chance
to enter the world market as we'll see an oversupply in our local
market," he said.

Sudwikatmono is optimistic Indonesian cement will be able to
compete on the international market, partly because the country's
producers have developed an international network for marketing
cement.

He said Indonesian cement producers export to 23 countries.

"Its quite an achievement considering the government restricts
cement exports by imposing quotas on producers to guarantee an
adequate local supply. If we have more supply, we'll have a
bigger chance to export," he said.

On the Institute of Cement and Concrete, the first of its kind
in Indonesia, he said that it was set up on consideration that
Indonesia needs an institution to study cement problems facing
the country. (13)