Soeharto inaugurates Semen Gresik's plant

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto officially inaugurated PT Semen Gresik's third cement plant in Tuban, East Java from his Bina Graha office in Jakarta.

Semen Gresik president Urip Timuryono said the new plant will increase the company's cement production capacity to 6.9 million tons a year.

The Tuban III plant has an annual production capacity of 2.3 million tons of cement, similar to the production capacity of the Tuban I and Tuban II plants, " he told the President during the inauguration ceremony.

Construction of the Rp 751 billion plant was financed through banks loans and the company's own funds.

He said that operation of the Tuban III plant would raise national cement production to 35.8 million tons. Domestic demand for cement reached about 27.9 million tons last year.

"This clearly shows that the cement production can meet all the domestic demand," Urip said, adding that the country could export the surplus to overseas markets.

PT Semen Gresik is part of the Semen Gresik Group, which also owns PT Semen Padang in West Sumatra and PT Semen Tonasa in South Sulawesi.

The group controls 40 percent of the country's cement market. (aly/prb)