The 7.8-magnitude quake struck the country and neighbouring Turkey last Monday, killing more than 37,000 people, at least 3,600 of them in Syria, according to government officials and emergency services in rebel areas.

Rescue operations are continuing, despite dwindling hopes of finding survivors. But Syria's long conflict and its effect on infrastructure are hampering efforts.

“When operating inside Syria, we are facing issues with line and mobile outages, undermining communication with staff,” Elias Abu Ata, spokesman for the International Rescue Committee, told The National.

“Some of our staff [are] losing their homes and working in temporary sites, including their cars,” Mr Abu Ata said.

One of the main challenges is access to fuel on the ground and many emergency team members are using their car engines to generate electricity to charge devices.

Some didn't make it. The IRC lost two of its workers in north-west Syria. Mohamed Shaabouk and Rowaida Glelate died tragically last week in their respective homes.

“They were committed and passionate individuals and were continuously focused on improving the lives of vulnerable people caught up in the Syrian crisis,” the IRC said in a statement.

Mr Abu Ata said at least one IRC field offices in northern Syria had been affected and "staff had been advised not to go back to buildings due to fear of aftershocks and the potential damage it may cause to some structures".

The IRC is also calling for wider access into Syria to provide relief for survivors.

Aid has been slow to reach Syria, where nearly 12 years of conflict have ravaged the healthcare system and parts of the country remain under the control of rebels battling against President Bashar Al Assad's government.

It was announced early on Tuesday that Mr Al Assad had agreed to allow UN aid deliveries to the opposition-held north-west, through two border crossings from Turkey, for three months.

“We use the same crossings [Bab Al Hawa] as the UN but we also transfer our assistance through commercial routes, which is why we need as much access as possible,” Mr Abu Ata said.

The first UN convoy going through Bab Al Hawa was last Thursday, comprising six lorries.

“We understand there are more convoys scheduled over the next few days,” Mr Abu Ata said. "We need those levels of aid coming in to scale up at pace."

Following the rescue operations, thousands of internally displaced people have moved across north-west Syria, with the majority of them making their way to neighbouring areas and staying in makeshift shelters vulnerable to aftershocks.

Many in areas of devastation are still without shelter, with more than 100,000 displaced families — and the numbers are increasing, Mr Abu Ata said.

“Displaced people are living in makeshift shelters or open air in sub-zero temperatures,” he said.

Clean drinking water, shelter, blankets and warm clothes are urgently needed, he added.

wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu.

The steel industry is one of the strategic sectors or is referred to as the “mother of industries” because it plays an important role in supplying raw material needs for many other industrial sectors. Among them are the construction sector, transportation equipment, heavy equipment, electronics, and defense equipment.

“Through the application of industry 4.0 in Indonesia, the steel industry in the country must be able to become a leader in innovation and increase the ability to meet basic materials for industrial users. That way, we can have higher competitiveness compared to products produced by other countries,” said Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita at the PT. Gunung Raja Paksi Tbk (GRP) in West Cikarang, Monday (21/3).

The Minister of Industry said that after going through various waves and variants of the Covid-19 pandemic, the base metal industry managed to record positive growth in the fourth quarter of 2021 by 11.31%, up from 9.52% in the previous quarter. “The growth of this sector is higher than the average growth of the national industry. I give my appreciation to all steel industry players in the country,” he said.

The Minister of Industry revealed that the contribution of the industrial sector to the economy can be seen from three things. First, expansion through increased investment. “We saw PT Gunung Raja Paksi Tbk. has increased investment, one of which is a light section mill (NGO) which is expected to start production in April this year and a new blast furnace operation in September,” he explained.

The second contribution is through exports which bring in foreign exchange for the nation and state. “GRP conveyed its plan to increase the export portion to 20 percent by 2022,” said the Minister of Industry.

Third, deepening of industrial structure. The Minister of Industry hopes that all steel industries can immediately deepen the structure, participate in building and fulfill the steel supply chain, from upstream, so as to produce cheap and quality raw materials.

Fulfillment of upstream products as raw materials to downstream products that are high in innovation, must be fulfilled in the harmonization of national steel supply-demand. “For this reason, the government has drawn up a national industrial development policy in accordance with the 2015-2035 National Industrial Development Master Plan (RIPIN), which is currently entering the second phase of 2020-2024 with a national steel capacity target of 17 million tons,” he said.

Through the realization of massive investments made by a number of companies, the government is optimistic that the target for increasing the capacity of the national steel industry can reach 11.9 million tons. This is also supported by the 10 Million Ton Steel Cluster Project in Cilegon – Banten which is expected to bring a multiplier effect, not only in terms of labor, but also tax revenue, and contribution to national GDP.

In addition, the industry also contributes through more environmentally friendly production processes. We appreciate that PT GRP has started buying carbon credits as part of its commitment to the world, that efforts to protect the environment are inseparable from the industry,” explained the Minister of Industry.

Steel exports to the United States

GRP exports structural steel to Casa Grande, Arizona-United States. Precisely to the electric car industry company, Lucid Motors. On this occasion, the Minister of Industry released the export of 700 MT structural beam products worth USD 1 million. “To export to the United States, adequate certification is needed. The products sent today have met the certificates from several international agencies which are not easy to obtain. It is an honor for us that the Children of the Nation can do that,” said the Minister of Industry.

President Director of PT Gunung Raja Paksi Tbk. Abednedju Giovano Warani Sangkaeng said that this was a trial order for the construction of the Lucid Motors factory. According to him, this export indicates that domestic steel products have succeeded in penetrating the export market to the USA.

The steel shipment to Uncle Sam’s country is the company’s effort to achieve the 2022 export target of USD 70 million. In addition, to increase the export portion to 20 percent, compared to 2021 which is only 5 percent. In 2021 alone, the export value achieved by the GRP will reach USD 44 million.

PT. GRP, which was established in 1970, is one of the steel companies that has a strategic role in the development of the national steel industry. This is indicated by the realization of the investment of PT. The GRP until 2021 is USD488.71 million (approximately Rp7 trillion) by producing steel from upstream to downstream. In addition to domestic sales, PT. GRP has exported with a value of USD45 million or an increase compared to 2020 which reached USD28 million.

Despite the great potential in exports, the Association of Indonesian Coconut Charcoal Briquette Entrepreneurs (HIPBAKI), assesses that there are still a number of obstacles faced by entrepreneurs today. The chairman of HIPBAKI, Basuki said, one of the problems faced by these briquette entrepreneurs was the scarcity of briquette raw materials. “This is a very major obstacle, because whole-grain coconuts are exported excessively. This causes coconut shells, which are the basic ingredients for briquettes, to be difficult to obtain. So that the production of briquettes cannot meet demand,” he said, Saturday (11/28/2020). When not operating due to the scarcity of basic briquette materials, it automatically makes the workforce experience a decrease in income and even tends to be laid off so that it has an impact on unemployment. “There is no synchronization between associations, or associations related to coconut business commodities and their derivatives, resulting in only sectoral settlements or according to their respective interests,” he added. Not only that, the delivery of coconut charcoal briquettes for export is very constrained. His party is still wondering because some shipping parties are reluctant to transport the briquette production. So that there is a buildup of briquette products in the factory warehouses of each member. “We hope that the government is present in its regulations to stabilize the raw material for coconut shell briquettes in particular and the coconut derivative business in general. So that the normalization of the briquette production business can be guaranteed,” he said. “In addition, we also hope that the Government can assist in coordinating with the shipping or transportation company because until now export shipments have been delayed until the time limit is unclear,” he added.

The steel industry is one of the strategic sectors or is referred to as the “mother of industries” because it plays an important role in supplying raw material needs for many other industrial sectors. Among them are the construction sector, transportation equipment, heavy equipment, electronics, and defense equipment.

“Through the application of industry 4.0 in Indonesia, the steel industry in the country must be able to become a leader in innovation and increase the ability to meet basic materials for industrial users. That way, we can have higher competitiveness compared to products produced by other countries,” said Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita at the PT. Gunung Raja Paksi Tbk (GRP) in West Cikarang, Monday (21/3).

The Minister of Industry said that after going through various waves and variants of the Covid-19 pandemic, the base metal industry managed to record positive growth in the fourth quarter of 2021 by 11.31%, up from 9.52% in the previous quarter. “The growth of this sector is higher than the average growth of the national industry. I give my appreciation to all steel industry players in the country,” he said.

The Minister of Industry revealed that the contribution of the industrial sector to the economy can be seen from three things. First, expansion through increased investment. “We saw PT Gunung Raja Paksi Tbk. has increased investment, one of which is a light section mill (NGO) which is expected to start production in April this year and a new blast furnace operation in September,” he explained.

The second contribution is through exports which bring in foreign exchange for the nation and state. “GRP conveyed its plan to increase the export portion to 20 percent by 2022,” said the Minister of Industry.

Third, deepening of industrial structure. The Minister of Industry hopes that all steel industries can immediately deepen the structure, participate in building and fulfill the steel supply chain, from upstream, so as to produce cheap and quality raw materials.

Fulfillment of upstream products as raw materials to downstream products that are high in innovation, must be fulfilled in the harmonization of national steel supply-demand. “For this reason, the government has drawn up a national industrial development policy in accordance with the 2015-2035 National Industrial Development Master Plan (RIPIN), which is currently entering the second phase of 2020-2024 with a national steel capacity target of 17 million tons,” he said.

Through the realization of massive investments made by a number of companies, the government is optimistic that the target for increasing the capacity of the national steel industry can reach 11.9 million tons. This is also supported by the 10 Million Ton Steel Cluster Project in Cilegon – Banten which is expected to bring a multiplier effect, not only in terms of labor, but also tax revenue, and contribution to national GDP.

In addition, the industry also contributes through more environmentally friendly production processes. We appreciate that PT GRP has started buying carbon credits as part of its commitment to the world, that efforts to protect the environment are inseparable from the industry,” explained the Minister of Industry.

Steel exports to the United States

GRP exports structural steel to Casa Grande, Arizona-United States. Precisely to the electric car industry company, Lucid Motors. On this occasion, the Minister of Industry released the export of 700 MT structural beam products worth USD 1 million. “To export to the United States, adequate certification is needed. The products sent today have met the certificates from several international agencies which are not easy to obtain. It is an honor for us that the Children of the Nation can do that,” said the Minister of Industry.

President Director of PT Gunung Raja Paksi Tbk. Abednedju Giovano Warani Sangkaeng said that this was a trial order for the construction of the Lucid Motors factory. According to him, this export indicates that domestic steel products have succeeded in penetrating the export market to the USA.

The steel shipment to Uncle Sam’s country is the company’s effort to achieve the 2022 export target of USD 70 million. In addition, to increase the export portion to 20 percent, compared to 2021 which is only 5 percent. In 2021 alone, the export value achieved by the GRP will reach USD 44 million.

PT. GRP, which was established in 1970, is one of the steel companies that has a strategic role in the development of the national steel industry. This is indicated by the realization of the investment of PT. The GRP until 2021 is USD488.71 million (approximately Rp7 trillion) by producing steel from upstream to downstream. In addition to domestic sales, PT. GRP has exported with a value of USD45 million or an increase compared to 2020 which reached USD28 million.

Rising toll makes quake deadliest in Turkey’s modern history

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Tuesday that more than 35,000 people have died in Turkey as a result of last week’s earthquake, making it the deadliest such disaster since the country’s founding 100 years ago.

While the death toll is almost certain to rise even further, many of the tens of thousands of survivors left homeless are still struggling to meet basic needs, like finding shelter from the bitter cold.

Confirmed deaths in Turkey passed those recorded from the massive Erzincan earthquake in 1939 that killed around 33,000 people.

Erdogan said 105,505 were injured as a result of the February 6 quake centred around Kahramanmaras and its aftershocks. Almost 3,700 deaths have been confirmed in neighbouring Syria, taking the combined toll in both countries to over 39,000.

The Turkish President, who has referred to the quake as “the disaster of the century", said more than 13,000 people were still being treated in hospital.

Speaking in Ankara following a five-hour Cabinet meeting held at the headquarters of disaster agency AFAD, Mr Erdogan said 47,000 buildings, which contained 211,000 residences, had been destroyed or were so badly damaged as to require demolition.

“We will continue our work until we get our last citizen out of the destroyed buildings,” he said of ongoing rescue efforts.