Loko tour
Semboro
Sugar Factory, 35 km west of Jember, was built during
the Dutch colonial period by Handles Vereniging Amsterdam
(a Dutch private company) in 1921 with 2103 hectares of
sugar cane fields which spread out in the western and
the northern part of Jember. In the Japanese colonial
period, sugar producing activities stopped and it was
changed to a soda factory to fulfill the needs of the
Japanese government. A few years after Indonesian Independence
Day, in 1949, it became an ammunition factory to provide
supplies for the Indonesian freedom fighters against the
colonialists seeking to reoccupy Indonesia. From 1950
to 1957 the milling activities began producing sugar which
was already taken over by the Indonesian government. Due
to its demands since 1978, the Semboro Sugar Factory has
tried to increase its production from 24.000 kw to 54.000
kw per day. Foreign visitors can take a nostalgic tour
by steam locomotive for 2 hours and can enjoy the beautiful
scenery along the way. Semboro Sugar Factory is about
120 minutes from the center of Jember and visitors can
hire a car to reach this destination.