Semen Padang raises output

JAKARTA (JP): PT Semen Padang will begin operating its fifth production plant in June, next year, raising its total production to 55.6 million tons of cement per year.

The company's president Abubakar said yesterday the new plant would be able to produce 192,000 tons of cement a month, Antara reported.

The production plant was 77 percent completed, Abubakar said.

Semen Padang, the country's oldest cement producer, produced 1.7 million tons of cement in the first half of this year. It is expected to produce 3.3 million tons by the end of this year, slightly lower than the targeted 3.32 million tons, he said.

The company exported about 150,000 tons of cement to Malaysia and Singapore during this year's first half and is targeted to export about 300,000 tons this year. (das)