Aneka Tambang to build FeNi III plant 2003

State-owned PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) said Friday it expects the construction of its third ferronickel plant in South Sulawesi to begin next year, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Antam president director Dedi Aditya Sumanagara said the construction is expected to start soon after it signs a final loan agreement, expected to be in March next year.

Antam will receive US$255 million financing from German export credit agency Hermes Kreditversicherungs AG to finance the ferronickel project, which is expected to cost around $380 million.

The company will receive a $75 million loan from state-owned PT Bank Mandiri, and will use internal cash amounting to $50 million for the project, which will double its ferronickel output to around 25,000 metric tons per year.

Dedi said the third ferronickel project is expected to reach a break-even point after eight years of commercial operation.

It will take around 28 months to construct the plant, he said.

Antam is 65 percent owned by the Indonesian government, and is listed on both the Jakarta and Australian Stock Exchanges. (*)