Jakarta (ANTARA) - The construction progress of a petrochemical plant in Cilegon, Banten, has reached 73 percent and will be completed in March 2025, Deputy for Investment Implementation Control at the Ministry of Investment, Yuliot, stated on Tuesday.

Yuliot remarked that the factory will help Indonesia produce more chemical products domestically, thereby reducing the country’s dependence on imports.

The petrochemical plant employed 13 thousand workers during construction and is expected to absorb one thousand workers during production, he remarked.

The factory will produce ethylene, polypropylene, and benzene.

Some of the products from the petrochemical factory in Cilegon will be exported to China and other Asian countries, but most of them will be used to replace imported products to meet the needs of the domestic market, Deputy for Strategic Investment Downstreaming at the Ministry of Investment, Heldy Satrya Putera, remarked.

Earlier, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had visited a petrochemical plant owned by PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia (LCI) in Cilegon, Banten, on Tuesday.

The president remarked that the plant, which was under construction since 2020, has absorbed investment of around Rp60 trillion ($3.9 billion).

“The factory will produce ethylene, polypropylene, benzene, and other 17 products. It will be an import substitute, 70 percent for local and 30 percent for export,” Jokowi remarked.

According to Jokowi, the factory's waste will be partly used to generate power.

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Translator: Shofi Ayudiana, Indra Arief
Editor: Sri Haryati
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