JAKARTA, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Thailand's Siam Cement Group plans to expand operations in Indonesia with a new plant to be built in West Java, a senior official said.
SCG Chief Finance Officer Chaovalit Ekabut said the new plant will be in Sukabumi in West Java with a total investment of $356 million, The Jakarta Post reported Thursday.
"We expect to start construction this year and finish by 2015. We hope to commence operations at this cement plan in the second half of 2015," Chaovalit said, adding the plant would have an annual capacity of 1.8 million tons.
Industry figures indicate cement use in Indonesia, spurred by growing construction, increased 14.5 percent to 54.96 million tons in 2012.
However, Chaovalit, citing projections that cement capacity in Indonesia could reach 100 million tons in six years, warned of a bubble that could lead to excess capacity, the Post said.
"Companies should look at the market and continue to invest to serve the demand and not to overexploit something that is not real," he added.
The Post said SCG's assets in Indonesia total $983 million, which represents 55 percent of its total assets in the Southeast Asia region.
