Antam ups stake in alumina project as partner withdraws

IDX-listed state miner PT.Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) has increased its shares in Tayan alumina project, West Kalimantan, to 64 percent after Straits Trading Amalgamated Resources (STAR) decided to withdraw from the project, CEO Alwinsyah Loebis said as quoted by Kontan daily.

Loebis said Antam took over STAR?s 15 percent stake in the chemical grade alumina project after the Singaporean company considered the project has become unattractive.

Other shareholders in PT.Indonesia Chemical Alumina (ICA) -the company the runs the project- are Japanese firms Showa Denko and KK of Japan (30 percent) and Marubeni Corporation (6 percent).

Loebis said earlier investment costs of US$450 million to develop the project could go down as prices of construction materials such as steel has significantly dropped in the past few months.

Loebis said that JBIC had expressed commitment to finance the project, but financial crises had made the process delayed. Loebis hoped that financial closure could be achieved by the end of first quarter 2009 to allow construction to start end of 2009.

ICA had appointed Japanese firm Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. as EPC contractor to build the plant.

The plant would produce 300,000 tonnes per year chemical grade alumina. Showa Denko will also act as offtaker of some of the plant?s output and Marubeni will act as marketing agent. (*)