VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The petrochemical industry complex owned by Lotte Chemical Indonesia in Cilegon, Banten with value US$3.5 billion dollars or Rp52.5 trillion rupiah was officially built. The construction was marked by a procession of laying the first stone by Minister of Industry, Airlangga Hartarto on Friday (7/12). In his remarks, Minister Airlangga said that the petrochemical industry is as important as the steel industry, as the mother of industry. Therefore, a stable environment and business climate need to be maintained so that this project is successfully implemented properly. Based on its characteristics, according to Minister Airlangga, the petrochemical industry is categorized as a type of manufacturing sector that is capital intensive, technology intensive, and energy-intensive. So, it needs special attention from the government for sustainable development. He also explained that in the Making Indonesia 4.0 road map, the chemical industry has been determined to be one of the sectors that received development priority to become a pioneer in the implementation of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry appreciates PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia to have realized its investment by building a petrochemical industrial complex with 100-hectare area. The petrochemical industry complex has a total production capacity of 2 million tons of naphtha crackers per year. The raw material is then processed to produce ethylene, propylene, polypropylene, and other derivative products which are also of high added-value. The production of PT. Lotte Chemical Indonesia is to meet domestic and global demand. The infrastructure development project is estimated to absorb up to 1,500 direct workers and indirect labor can reach 4,000 in the period 2019-2023. This effort is believed to improve Indonesia's economy fundamentally, by saving foreign exchange from import substitution, and will also be able to improve the trade balance. According to Minister Airlangga, the production of the petrochemical industry can support the reduction of imports of petrochemical products by at least 50 percent. He also hopes that the project will prioritize the use of local components, including workers who will be involved in this project. They must be prioritized from within the country.