House Of Representatives Commission VI Questions Cement Factory Construction Permit Even Though There Is A Moratorium Due To Oversupply, This Is The Defense Of Investment Minister Bahlil

Cement factory. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Commission VI of the House of Representatives has requested the investment minister's promise, Bahlil Lahadalia, regarding the audit of cement factories in Indonesia. The audit was conducted in order to determine the position of supply and demand for cement products in the country.

Member of Commission VI DPR Andre Rosiade said there had been an oversupply or oversupply in the cement market in Indonesia. Therefore, he wanted to know the results of the cement factory investigation audit.

"I want to collect the promise on August 30, 2021, the Minister promised us an audit of the cement factory investigation, we have been waiting for 10 months. If there is indeed an audit, we ask that today it may move the results of the audit. Move to report to us at Commission VI ," he said in a Working Meeting with the Minister of Investment, Friday, June 10.

Andre said that currently Indonesia has over supply, reaching 50 million metric tons of cement. Therefore, according to him, Indonesia does not need to invest in a new cement factory until 2030. Because the growth is only 4 percent per year.

Because of that, Andre also questioned why Bahlil gave permission to build a cement factory by a foreign party. For example, factories in Aceh and East Kalimantan (Kaltim). In fact, said Andre, the two factories do not need to be built, considering that the government has implemented a moratorium on cement factory permits.

"I remind you, Mr. (Bahlil), the promise that there will be a moratorium, the factories in Aceh and East Kalimantan can run even though there is a moratorium. How can it work? What is the commitment? .

Andre also said that the cement factory in East Kalimantan, which was built by a foreign party from China, has the potential to threaten the country's cement industry. Especially in supplying cement for raw materials for the construction of the new national capital (IKN).

"This is allegedly feared by the domestic cement industry, it disrupts the sales of domestic cement factories, sir. Don't let IKN need 21 million tons of cement, which enjoys the Chinese cement in East Kalimantan, sir," he explained.

Similarly, member of Commission VI of the PDI-P faction, Darmadi Durianto, said that it is very important to carry out an audit of the cement factory investigation to find out the state of the cement market in Indonesia. With the investigative audit, he said, investors will have certainty whether Indonesia needs a new cement factory or not.

"I want to point out that this is a cement factory. Please explain to the public, so that this is clear so that those who want to invest know. This data is needed so that there are no confusion, sir," said Darmadi.

In response to this, Minister Bahlil said an investigative audit of the cement factory had been carried out by the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP). The results of the report stated that Indonesia still had a cement supply surplus of 40 million tons.

"Mr. Andre, so that I don't keep asking questions, the BPKP report is already there. The results of the report are that it is true that there is still a surplus of 40 million metric tons per year," said Bahlil.

Bahlil also emphasized that so far he has implemented a cement factory moratorium. According to him, this is still being done today.

"I also told Mr. Andre, that it was BKPM that initiated the cement moratorium, not other ministries. Mr. Andre should not be wrong," he said.

In addition, Bahlil also explained that the permit for the construction of a cement factory in East Kalimantan was issued right before the moratorium decision was issued by his side. He said there were two reasons behind the permit being issued.

First, the factory investment permit is included in the list of stalled investments that are prioritized to be completed. Second, the factory is export-oriented, so it does not interfere with the domestic market.

Meanwhile, for the factory in Aceh, continued Bahlil, no construction has yet been carried out. In fact, Bahlil guarantees that the cement factory moratorium will continue.

"I hope there are no additional questions related to cement, because it is clear and clean," said Bahlil.