JAKARTA. Supreme Court (SC) made decision in favor of local residents by revoking the license of PT Semen Indonesia Tbk or SMGR’s cement factory in Rembang, Central Java. In the earlier, the license was issued by Central Java Governor in 2012.

Until the news was released, SMGR still refused to make further comment over the decision, until the Supreme Court releases official statement regarding the decision. However, Corporate Secretary of SMGR Agung Wiharto said that the company will respect court’s decision.

Aside of SMGR, PT Indocement Tunggal Perkasa Tbk (INTP) also faced a lawsuit from local residents regarding its cement factory license in Pati, Central Java. However, Administrative High Court of Surabaya made decision in favor of INTP.

Learning from the case of SMGR, Corporate Secretary of INTP Pigo Primusakti said that the company will consider many aspects before deciding to establish a new factory. “To date, we have not decided the schedule for establish factory in Pati”, said Pigo.

As an information, the demand for cement in Central Java has increased by double digits, while other regions experience slow demand. During January-August 2016, demand for cement in Central Java has increased by 11.1%.

According to Pigo, in 2015 INTP secured 37% of 7.25 million of cement market shares in Central Java. Therefore, INTP plans to establish a new factory to expand the market. Let alone, a new competitor PT Sinar Tambang Arthalestari with the brand of Bima has just recently penetrated cement market in Central Java. During the first semester of 2016, INTP secured 35% of 3.55 million ton of cement demands in Central Java.

(Muhammad Farid/Translator)

Editor: Dupla Kartini