Tayan consortium appoints WIKA as EPC contractor

PT Indonesia Chemical Alumina (ICA) announced on Monday the appointment of the consortium of WIKA Group as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor of the Tayan Chemical Grade Alumina project.

PT ICA is a joint venture company between Indonesia-listed mining firm PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) and Japanese firms Showa Denko K.K. and Marubeni Corporation.

The consortium of WIKA Group consists of Indonesia-listed, government controlled construction firm PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk, Tsukishima Kikai Co. Ltd. and PT Nusea.

?Following the selection, PT ICA and the consortium of WIKA Group will begin negotiations on the terms and condition of the EPC. PT ICA expects the construction of the project to begin within this year, and it is expected to start the commercial operation in 2014,? Antam said in statement.

Currently, efforts to obtain the best optimum financing to fund the Tayan CGA project are well underway with possible support from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and other reputable commercial banks, Antam said.

ICA re-tenders the Tayan project as the $450 million price tag offered by previous winner Kawasaki heavy Industries.

The Tayan CGA project is located at Tayan, Sanggau Regency, West Kalimantan Province. The project is planned to produce 300,000 tons of CGA annually. The CGA products will be exported to Japan and other countries aside from Indonesia. (kanti)