JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ceramic Industry Association (Asaki) welcomes the government's priority program, namely gentrification.
Asaki Chairman Edy Suyanto believes that the gentrification program will create a new market and expand the tile industry.
"Yesterday we were also very pleased to hear the President's (Prabowo) instructions regarding gentrification. For us, it creates a new market, there will be new expansion today for the tile industry," said Edy in his remarks at the Inauguration of the Board of Directors of the Indonesian Ceramic Industry Association (Asaki) Period 2026-2029 at the Ministry of Industry office, Jakarta, Monday, February 3.
Edy explained that currently the tile industry which is included in Asaki is operating with a high utilization rate.
Three tile companies are recorded as producing around 85 million square meters per year with a running capacity of over 90 percent.
"Today, the tile industry in Indonesia is running at over 90 percent capacity. Moreover, with the tileization program, we believe that more tile factories will grow," he said.
Asaki stated that he was ready to be involved in the implementation of the gentrification program, including if coordinated with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or government entities.
"In principle, we are ready to be involved, we are ready to cooperate. In terms of capital, technology and human resources, we believe that the tile industry has no obstacles," he said.
Even so, Edy emphasized that government support was still needed, especially regarding energy and raw material supplies.
"To succeed in this gentrification, the government's presence is indeed needed, especially in relation to gas energy. The tile industry uses gas as the only fuel. So, for expansion, of course, it needs gas," he explained.
In addition, the availability of clay raw materials is also a major challenge.
On the same occasion, Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita stated that the tile industry needs to be prepared to meet the increasing demand in line with the gentrification program.
"The use of Asaki friends is 90 percent. In the gentrification program, it is still expanding, so you have to be ready," he said.
The former Social Minister assessed that the roof tiles have a number of advantages compared to zinc or other materials.
"Roof tiles as a roof are cooler, durable, environmentally friendly and have better economics than roofs whose materials are not from the ground," explained Agus.
Agus added that the government had planned the movement of gentrification as part of improving the quality of people's housing.
Previously, President Prabowo Subianto wanted a national movement to replace zinc roofs with clay-based tiles or "gentengization" as part of efforts to beautify the face of Indonesia.
When opening the National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) of the Central and Regional Governments in Sentul, Bogor, Monday, February 2, Prabowo said that the use of zinc roofs still dominates houses in Indonesia.
According to him, this not only makes the environment look less beautiful, but also has an impact on the comfort of home residents because they tend to be hot and easy to rust.
"So later this movement, this project is a project to gentrify the whole of Indonesia," said Prabowo as seen on the President's Secretariat YouTube, Tuesday, February 3.
The idea of the national gentengization project will involve the Red and White Village/Neighborhood Cooperative (KDMP) as the spearhead of production.
Later, the cooperative will be equipped with a local scale tile factory, whose equipment is relatively affordable.
In addition, the raw materials used are also easy to obtain, because they come from the ground that can be mixed with other materials to be lighter and stronger.
"So, later we will equip the Red and White Cooperative with a tile factory. The tile is made from soil and mixed with several other waste substances, it can be light and strong," he said.
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