Papua to Have Cement Factory

Timika (Antara Bali) - PT Semen Papua, which is owned by the Papua provincial administration will start construction of the first cement factory in the region.

The factory  will be built in the  Paumako port area, East Mimika, head of the regional development planning board (Bappeda)Adolf Haley told Antara news agency here on Friday.

Adolf said construction is expected to start this year after the document on analysis of the environmental impact (Amdal) has been signed by Papua Governor Lukas Enembe.

All community or tribal leaders and stakeholders endorsed the project at a meeting held here recently, he said.

"The Amdal was approved at the meeting," he added.

The project will cost around Rp1.9 trillion  and in the first phase, the factory will produce cement in bulk with basic material supplied from other cement factories with packing in Timika.

Expert staff of the governor Dr Agus Sumule  said recently that the regional administration is still studying cooperation with a number of banks to finance the project.

The provincial administration would not use fund  from the regional budget to build the project, Agus said.

Recently a leader of state lender PT Bank Mandiri Tbk  said the bank would consider financial support for  the project.

In addition Bank Papua, which is owned by the regional administration also will form a consortium to raise fund for the project.

Agus said the cement factory would be built with mining sand as tailing as the feedstock from  PT Freeport Indonesia, a US company having a large gold and copper mines in Papua.

Studies of limestone reserve in Timika and  comparative studies at PT Semen Kupang , a cement factory in East Nusatenggara  showed that the project is feasible, he said.

The factory will have a production capacity of 500,000 tons a year  and in three years the capacity would be expanded to three million tons .

So far cement has been supplied from other regions mainly from Sulawesi that the price is high with transport cost.

The factory would better guarantee cement supply in cheaper price in Papua , Agus said. In addition it would provide new jobs for local people, he said. (*/DWA)