Holcim Inaugurates $800m New Plant in East Java
Jakarta. Holcim Indonesia, the local unit of Swiss-based Holcim group, inaugurated an $800 million new plant in Tuban, East Java, on Monday to strengthen its market grip in some regions in the country, the company said in a statement.
The Tuban plant, designed to have 3.4 million metric tons of cement production capacity per year, will boost the cement maker’s current capacity to 12.5 million tons per year, the statement said.
East Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan are areas targeted for distribution of outputs from the plant.
“The new Tuban Plant completes our presence in Java as it will serve our markets better, ensures supplies, and secures our position among the three biggest cement players in Indonesia,” Gary Schutz, the chief executive of Holcim Indonesia, said in the statement.
He added the Tuban plant would also help to save distribution cost and support an even cement supply for the eastern part of Indonesia.
Schutz acknowledged that domestic demand for cement was slowing down amid the economic slowdown, placing Holcim Indonesia to deal with over-supply market, but he believed “that it is temporary” as the construction sector was likely to pick up the pace.
Data from the Indonesian Cement Association showed the total cement sales in Indonesia was recorded at 27.71 million tons in June, decreasing 4.3 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Schutz predicted Indonesian cement sales would remain flat or even slightly decrease to 58 million to 60 million tons this year.
Last year, nationwide cement sales amounted to 59.9 million tons.
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