By Imam Hanafi
Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan (Antaranews) - steel processing industry in districts Kotabaru targeted to begin operating around 2016.
"Hopefully there are no barriers to the end of 2016, it will be operating," said President Director of PT Sebuku Iron Lateritic Ores (SILO), Efendi Tios, while attending the inauguration of and 'groundbreaking' of Masterplan projects for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development (MP3EI) by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in Banjarbaru on Wednesday.
Currently, PT SILO has completed construction of an integrated steel industry phase I (Industrial cleaning iron ore) in Sebuku Island, Kotabaru, valued at Rp1,200 trillion. He explained that the next phase will begin in 2014, and so on.
Meanwhile, in addition to building a steel processing industry, PT SILO Group is also building other supporting facilities, such as, coke plant using coal as fuel for iron ore processing and other infrastructure facilities.
Supporting its productivity and raw materials of the steel industry, PT SILO Group already has a number of iron ore and coal mining companies.
Among of hem, the coal company PT Sebuku Batubai Coal covering 9691.97 hectares in the subdistrict of North Pulau Laut and the Central Pulau Laut, PT Sebuku Tanjung with an area of 9898.61 hectares with a potential just around 1814.10 hectares or about 18.3 percent.
PT Sebuku Sejakah Coal with an area of about 25 thousand ha with a potentially just around 1534.20 hectares or about 6.14 percent. Iron ore mining company PT Banjar Asri in subdistrict of East Pulau Laut and the Central Pulau Laut with an area of approximately 1,395 hectares, and land potentially just around 625.5 or approximately 44.84 per cent .
