mr funny
27-03-07, 05:12
March 26, 2007
Granite supply hit after blasts rock quarry in Indonesia
Cause of explosions at S'pore-owned firm on Karimun not known; sabotage not ruled out
By Azhar Ghani, Indonesia Bureau Chief
JAKARTA - FOUR explosions rocked a Singaporean-owned granite quarry in Indonesia late last week, temporarily halting production at the site which provides about half of the Republic's granite needs.
The blasts, which threaten to further damage Singapore's resurgent construction industry, happened at about 2am on Friday and hit PT Karimun Granite's site on Karimun in the Riau Islands, about an hour's ferry ride from Singapore.
The cause of the explosions has not been established, but sabotage has not been ruled out.
On Saturday, the Riau Pos newspaper carried a report headlined 'Four bombs explode in Karimun', and suggested the explosions were related to a recent controversy over granite exports.
Meanwhile, eyewitness Atan, a fisherman, told Antara news agency that the blasts caused huge fireballs.
Kompas daily quoted a resident of nearby Lembah Murni village, Mr Hery Safardi, as saying: 'When the blasts went off, the whole house shook.'
Indonesian media reports said the blasts damaged areas on the quarry's two loading piers, knocking out the conveyor system used to transfer granite chips onto barges. Electricity supply was also disrupted, but there were no casualties.
PT Karimun Granite, South-east Asia's largest hard rock quarry operation, exported up to 5 million tonnes of granite annually from 2001 to 2005, and hit a high of 5.1 million tonnes last year.
It is owned and run by the building materials arm of Singapore company Hong Leong Asia, which acquired a majority stake in it in 2000.
It has been in operation since 1972 and has a mining concession from Jakarta that lasts until 2013.
With Hong Leong Asia being one of Singapore's largest building materials suppliers, the indefinite suspension of operations at its Karimun quarry could worsen the Republic's current construction materials crunch.
Mr Arif Rahman, general manager of PT Karimun Granite, told The Jakarta Post that even before the blasts, his company had not sent any granite to Singapore for a month after the Indonesian navy stopped a 3,000 tonne shipment on suspicion the barge was being used to smuggle sand.
Indonesia banned the export of sand last month, citing environmental concerns and the need to protect its maritime boundaries.
Singapore projects supplied by PT Karimun Granite include those of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, the Housing Board and Jurong Island.
The latest disruption in supply also comes at a time when Hong Leong Asia is trying to ramp up its granite production to meet rising demand following the recent upturn in Singapore's construction sector.
In the group's annual results for last year, released on Feb28 this year, it said it had recently invested in additional equipment to boost production at its Karimun quarry.
But because Hong Leong Asia had already anticipated being affected by ongoing problems between Singapore and Indonesia, it could be prepared for the disruption caused by the blasts.
Meanwhile, Riau police chief Sutarman told The Straits Times yesterday that investigations into the blasts are ongoing, and that nothing has been ruled out.
So far, police have questioned the security guard who was on duty during the blasts and fishermen who were nearby when they happened.
[email protected]
Granite supply hit after blasts rock quarry in Indonesia
Cause of explosions at S'pore-owned firm on Karimun not known; sabotage not ruled out
By Azhar Ghani, Indonesia Bureau Chief
JAKARTA - FOUR explosions rocked a Singaporean-owned granite quarry in Indonesia late last week, temporarily halting production at the site which provides about half of the Republic's granite needs.
The blasts, which threaten to further damage Singapore's resurgent construction industry, happened at about 2am on Friday and hit PT Karimun Granite's site on Karimun in the Riau Islands, about an hour's ferry ride from Singapore.
The cause of the explosions has not been established, but sabotage has not been ruled out.
On Saturday, the Riau Pos newspaper carried a report headlined 'Four bombs explode in Karimun', and suggested the explosions were related to a recent controversy over granite exports.
Meanwhile, eyewitness Atan, a fisherman, told Antara news agency that the blasts caused huge fireballs.
Kompas daily quoted a resident of nearby Lembah Murni village, Mr Hery Safardi, as saying: 'When the blasts went off, the whole house shook.'
Indonesian media reports said the blasts damaged areas on the quarry's two loading piers, knocking out the conveyor system used to transfer granite chips onto barges. Electricity supply was also disrupted, but there were no casualties.
PT Karimun Granite, South-east Asia's largest hard rock quarry operation, exported up to 5 million tonnes of granite annually from 2001 to 2005, and hit a high of 5.1 million tonnes last year.
It is owned and run by the building materials arm of Singapore company Hong Leong Asia, which acquired a majority stake in it in 2000.
It has been in operation since 1972 and has a mining concession from Jakarta that lasts until 2013.
With Hong Leong Asia being one of Singapore's largest building materials suppliers, the indefinite suspension of operations at its Karimun quarry could worsen the Republic's current construction materials crunch.
Mr Arif Rahman, general manager of PT Karimun Granite, told The Jakarta Post that even before the blasts, his company had not sent any granite to Singapore for a month after the Indonesian navy stopped a 3,000 tonne shipment on suspicion the barge was being used to smuggle sand.
Indonesia banned the export of sand last month, citing environmental concerns and the need to protect its maritime boundaries.
Singapore projects supplied by PT Karimun Granite include those of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, the Housing Board and Jurong Island.
The latest disruption in supply also comes at a time when Hong Leong Asia is trying to ramp up its granite production to meet rising demand following the recent upturn in Singapore's construction sector.
In the group's annual results for last year, released on Feb28 this year, it said it had recently invested in additional equipment to boost production at its Karimun quarry.
But because Hong Leong Asia had already anticipated being affected by ongoing problems between Singapore and Indonesia, it could be prepared for the disruption caused by the blasts.
Meanwhile, Riau police chief Sutarman told The Straits Times yesterday that investigations into the blasts are ongoing, and that nothing has been ruled out.
So far, police have questioned the security guard who was on duty during the blasts and fishermen who were nearby when they happened.
[email protected]