Gresik is Largest Cement Factory in SE Asia: Minister

Tuban - State-owned cement firm PT Semen Gresik will become the largest cement factory in Southeast Asia in 2013, State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Minister Dahlan Iskan said. "PT Semen Gresik is expected to become the largest cement factory in Southeast Asia after the opening of its new factories, Tuban IV in East Java and Tonasa V in South Sulawesi," the minister said here on Saturday. The minister made his remarks while he officiated at the Tuban IV factory in Tuban, East Java, on Saturday. He said that the operations of the two factories would increase PT Gresik's cement production to 26 million tons per year. "The production is bigger than Thailand's Siam cement factory. And it seems that PT Semen Gresik's position will be difficult to be replaced because it is still planning on building a number of new factories," the minister added. Beginning in 2013, PT Semen Gresik will build two new cement factories with a production capacity of 3 million tons each, including one in Padang, West Sumatra and the other in Rembang, Central Java. The expansion will increase the number of Semen Gresik's factories, after the opening of the new Tuban IV (already in operation) and Tonasa V in Pangkep, South Sulawesi, whose construction is nearly completed. The two factories, Tuban and Tonasa, which were built at a cost of Rp3.18 trillion each, have equal production capacities of three million tons annually. "Semen Gresik is continuously expanding in anticipation of increasing demand at home and in boosting development," Minister Dahlan said. Besides at home, Dahlan also supported Gresik's plan to expand business overseas, particularly in Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. "Semen Gresik is one of the state-owned companies which is expected to serve as a locomotive of economic growth and as an Indonesian firm which is able to compete in the world. Its performance is very good," the minister said. This year, Semen Gresik set a sales goal of 19 million tons of cement, an increase of 15.3 percent compared with 2011. It has also set a net profit growth of 33.8 percent, from Rp3.9 trillion last year to Rp4.2 trillion in 2012. (*)