JakartaPost-May 27, 2024
The Industry Ministry is set to hold a meeting to gather information on how China-owned subsidiary Kobexindo Cement was able to obtain an NIB through the OSS, according to its cement industry director. A local company belonging to a Chinese conglomerate is to build a cement factory in South Aceh regency, despite a nationwide moratorium in place since 2020. Interim South Aceh regent Cut Syazalisma signed an agreement on May 18 that permits PT Kobexindo Cement, part of China’s cement conglomerate Hongshi Holding Group as a subsidiary of Zhejiang Hongshi Cement Co., Ltd., to construct a factory in the regency. The prospective investment amounts to Rp 10 trillion (US$622 million) for the facility, which is to have a production capacity of 6 million tons per year. The deal contravenes a moratorium the central government imposed to halt the construction of cement factories across the country, except in Papua, West Papua, Maluku and North Maluku. The moratorium was issued in response to cement oversupply in the domestic market, as the national output of 119.9 million tons far surpassed the annual demand of 65.5 million tonnes, according to the Indonesia Cement Association (ASI). The policy is implemented in the Online Single Submission (OSS) system, the government’s business permit platform. With that in mind, Kobexindo Cement should not have been issued a Business Identification Number (NIB), an essential step in the licensing process, the ASI says. Putu Nadi Astuti, the Industry Ministry’s director of cement, ceramics and nonmetallic minerals industries, said the ministry would hold a meeting with all stakeholders to decide whether to cancel the factory’s planned construction or allow it to proceed. Read more at:
