Damaged road forces relocation of LG factory

TANGERANG: A councillor of the Tangerang regency legislative council said that damages to a road linking Tangerang and Parung had forced a big electronics manufacturer to relocate some of its operations, including workers, from Tangerang to Bekasi.

"We received information that LG has closed its plasma TV production facility in Legok and relocated it to Cibitung in Bekasi along with some 2,000 workers because of a damaged road," Muchlis, a councilor of Commission II overseeing the economy, said Thursday.

Muchlis said the impacts of the relocation were already being felt, with local vendors who used to serve workers at the factor moving on.

Giant South Korean electronics firm LG made the decision to move because many customers had complained their TVs had arrived damaged, the council said.

"The damage was caused by violent shaking inside the container trucks that transport the sensitive products from the factory to cities outside of Tangerang," he said.

He said more firms would follow LG's lead if the local administration did not repair the road.

PT LG Indonesia was not available for comment Thursday. - JP