Textile companies in Bandung to be relocated away from river
Textile companies in Bandung to be relocated away from river
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung
The government plans to relocate hundreds of textile companies in
Bandung regency, West Java, to an integrated industrial area in
Cipeundeuy, Cikalong Wetan, in an effort to stop waste from being
dumped into the Citarum River.
State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim said here on
Tuesday the plan was discussed last Friday with Bandung Regent
Obar Sobarna, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan and textile
businesspeople.
"If they (the companies) are centered in an industrial estate,
the management of their waste will be integrated. It will
therefore be better for the environment," Nabiel said after
attending a ceremony for a tree planting program in Banjaran,
some 14 kilometers from downtown Bandung.
The relocation would also be economically advantageous for the
companies and would cut their production costs, he said.
The minister said the price of land in the proposed industrial
area was relatively cheap. This would allow the companies to use
their profits from selling their current land to buy modern
machinery after moving to the new location.
"With modern equipment, they will be able to compete with
Vietnam and Cambodia in textile production in terms of quality
and quantity. Currently, they cannot compete because they use old
machines bought in 1990s," Nabiel said.
Regent Obar Sobarna confirmed the plan to relocate the textile
firms, but said it still needed to be discussed with the company
owners and a feasibility study had to be completed.
The regent said his administration was in the process of
clearing between 1,500 and 2,500 hectares of land belonging to
farmers in Cipeundeuy for the new integrated industrial area.
"What is called the Padalarang or Majalaya industrial zone was
actually not designed for that purpose, so there is no adequate
infrastructure prepared for companies there," Obar added.
The new Cipeundeuy industrial estate will be able to
accommodate more than 500 factories, he said.
In Bandung, there are more than 500 textile companies
registered with the local administration. Most of them are large
factories.
Bandung environment office head Mulyaningrum said that based
on a survey by her office and Padjadjaran University, the city
has at least 208 textile companies in 19 districts that produce
liquid waste.
They dump a total of 80,000 tons of liquid waste into Citarum
River last year, she said. "Solid waste is also dumped there,"
she added.
Mulyaningrum said the amount of liquid waste dumped into the
river reached up to 2,342 cubic meters per second. "It would be
better for the factories to be relocated so their waste
management could be integrated," she said.