Contract for the second phase of investment has been signed and is ready to go
Jakarta (ANTARA) - National steel producer PT Gunung Raja Paksi Tbk (GRP) invested an additional US$850 million, or some Rp12 trillion, to boost production efficiency and to facilitate market expansion.

"We want to ensure our increasingly solid position as a market leader in the national steel industry," PT GRP Tbk President Director Tony Taniwan noted in a statement here on Saturday.

The two-staged investment process comprises $370 million (Rp5.2 trillion) in funds disbursed for the 2019-2021 period under the first phase and $480 million (Rp6.8 trillion) for the 2021-2023 period in the second phase.

PT GRP Tbk Chief Technical Officer Biplab Kumar Dutta expounded that the first phase of investment was conducted for the development of machines for making H beam and U type iron for light section mills, blast furnaces, transformers, and machines for making large H beams and angles for medium section mills.

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In the second stage, the expansion will be conducted to develop pipe-making machines, coil-cutting machines, and a hot rolled coil (HRC) factory.

"Contract for the second phase of investment has been signed and is ready to go," he revealed.

In the meantime, Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (KADIN's) Honorary Board, Suryo Bambang Sulistyo, lauded the step taken by PT GRP to step up investment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"They certainly have a mature strategy. It could be that the company sees an open steel market opportunity. At a time when other companies are contracting, this firm is actually preceding. Hence, when the situation has improved and demand has also increased, this company has already taken advanced steps," he pointed out.

The additional investment is also projected to help curtail the number of layoffs and open job opportunities, he remarked.

"Hence, this is very good and must be supported. Moreover, COVID-19 has triggered many layoffs," he stated.

Hence, Kadin is optimistic that the government would support domestic steel industries.

Sulistyo opined that the steel industry is a national asset that significantly contributes to moving the wheels of the national economy. Related news: South kalimantan steel factory to begin production in 2012
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Translator: Subagyo, Fardah
Editor: Mulyo Sunyoto
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