Senator Andi Waris Halid Backs PT Conch's Plastic Bag Investment in Barru
MAKASSAR - Deputy Chairman of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) Committee II, Andi Abdul Waris Halid, has expressed full support for the investment plan of a plastic bag (cement packaging) factory by PT Conch in Barru Regency. The Senator from South Sulawesi stressed that this investment is purely in the packaging sector and is therefore unrelated to issues of competition within the cement industry.
He highlighted that the project’s Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) process is currently stalled at the South Sulawesi Provincial Environment and Forestry Service. He urged the relevant authorities to complete the process immediately according to standard operating procedures without unfounded delays. If the bureaucratic process continues to drag on without certainty, he threatened to take the matter to the national level by initiating a Public Hearing Meeting at the DPD RI, summoning the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Industry to provide an explanation.
Addressing public concerns linking PT Conch to threats against the local cement industry, Andi Waris clarified that the two are entirely separate matters. He noted that while he supports the moratorium on new cement factories due to oversupply in South Sulawesi, the plastic bag factory is a different type of business and should not be equated with the cement industry.
The Acting Regent of Barru, Dr. Ir. Abustan Andi Bintang, explained that the entire licensing process for PT Conch is being restructured from the beginning following a change in the company’s investment map. The original plan for an integrated cement plant has now shifted to a plastic bag manufacturing industry. He confirmed that from a spatial planning perspective, there are no longer any obstacles, as evidenced by the issuance of the Spatial Utilisation Activity Conformity (KKPR) confirmation through the Online Single Submission (OSS) system, proving the location is synchronised and compliant with regulations from the central to the regional level. The Barru Regency Government hopes the investment licensing process can be realised soon to create new jobs and boost the local economy.