Sinar Mas to open CPO plant in Irian Jaya

JAKARTA (JP): The widely diversified Sinar Mas Group is currently developing a new crude palm oil (CPO) refinery plant in Irian Jaya and a port to support its CPO exports from the province, a company official has said.

The official in charge of the projects, Hutahuruk, was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday that the development of the refinery and port was going well despite the current fluctuating political situation in the province.

The new refinery is located in Lereh district, about 200 kilometers from Irian Jaya's capital city of Jayapura. The port is in Demta, about 170 kilometers from Jayapura.

He said the CPO refinery was expected to complement the group's 40,000-hectare palm oil plantation which it opened two years ago, also in Lereh.

The plantation is the largest of its kind in the country.

"The refinery itself has an installed capacity to process 15 tons of fresh palm fruit into three tons of CPO a day," he said.

He said the Sinar Mas Group planned to build more refineries in the area to anticipate higher harvest volumes in the near future in line with the group's plan to expand its plantations.

He said the group would construct two refineries, meaning it would have a total production capacity of 60 tons of fresh fruit plummet a day, or about 12 tons of CPO a day.

Hutahuruk did not mention when these refineries would be completed.

He also declined to reveal the amount of money invested in the new refinery and port.

Some sources estimate the group has allocated at least Rp 50 billion (US$5.5 million) for the construction of the refinery and another Rp 46 billion for the new port.

Hutahuruk said the development of new port was expected to support the group's CPO business through export activities.

He said the port would be furnished with modern facilities, including two 15,000-ton capacity tanks and one 2,000-ton capacity tank to store CPO prior to shipment. (cst)