Exports of raw materials will disadvantage domestic industries, and only advanced nations will get the benefits.Banyuwangi, East Java (ANTARA News) - Industry Minister MS Hidayat has warned that if Indonesia continues exporting raw materials, it will be disadvantageous to domestic industries.
"Exports of raw materials will disadvantage domestic industries, and only advanced nations will get the benefits," Minister Hidayat stated here on Monday, when inaugurating the cement factory PT Bosowa Banyuwangi.
Therefore, the industry ministry requested Indonesian businessmen to engage in the downstream sector of the country`s industries. The minister was speaking at the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by, among others, the Banyuwangi district head Abdullah Azwar Anas, Bosowa Group founder Aksa Mahmud and Bosowa Group CEO Erwin Aksa.
The minister also observed that the domestic cement consumption reached 48 million tonnes in 2011, and it is expected to continue increasing in the coming years.
Therefore, he commended the Bosowa Group for setting up a cement factory in Banyuwangi after building one in Maros, South Sulawesi.
Erwin Aksa, who is also the chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association`s Advisory Council, remarked that the Banyuwangi cement factory will have a production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes.
The factory was built using funds amounting to Rp800 billion, sourced partly from Bosowa`s equity and partly from a loan provided by Bank Mega.
The factory is expected to be fully constructed by 2013 or early 2014.
East Java, Bali and West Nusa Tenggara are expected to be the primary target markets of the new cement factory.
(A011)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
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