Cemindo breaks ground on new plant in Indonesia

Groundbreaking is to begin today on a new cement plant in Banten, Indonesia. The plant, which will take an investment of around US$600 million, belongs to PT Cemindo Gemilang, a subsidiary of the Ganda Group, which owns oil palm plantation, mining and property businesses. The company is a majority shareholder of a Vietnamese cement producer,

In an interview with the Jakarta Post, Aan Selamat, President director, said, “We picked this area because we want to build an integrated plant and at this location we can find abundant raw materials to help future operations.”

Cement plant + infrastructure = US$600 million

The plant will be situated on a 500-hectare plot and is expected to begin commercial operations in the third quarter of 2015. Approximately US$450 million is expected to be spent on construction of the plant, with a further US$150 million on necessary infrastructure, including a port capable of accommodating vessels up to 30 000 dwt, and power network. Electricity will be sourced from the PLTU Pelabuhan Ratu coal-fired power plant. Once complete, the new cement plant will have a capacity of 4 million tpa and will serve Banten, Greater Jakarta and West Java.

Cemindo is aiming to take an 8% share in the Indonesian cement market, with annual sales of US$400 million by 2015. Its stake in the Vietnamese cement producer Chinfon Cement Corporation will play its part in this, having sold about 1 million t of cement to the Indonesian market in 2012 – earning US$100 million in revenue. Cemindo also operates state-owned PT Semen Kupang in a joint cooperation scheme through its subsidiary PT Sarana Agra Gemilang.

Edited from various sources by Katherine Guenioui