VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Bangka Belitung islands provincial government will cooperate with state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina to expedite construction of a catalyst factory to offer added value to the abundant Kaolin raw materials in the province.

"We have visited Pertamina to ensure cooperation for the construction of this catalyst factory," Bangka Belitung Governor Erzaldi Rosman Djohan stated here on Tuesday.

Djohan noted that the province had profuse amounts of Kaolin -- the raw material of catalyst used in oil processing -- that had yet to be optimally utilized to improve the economy of the local community.

“These kaolin-based catalysts have, so far, been regularly imported from the United States since most of the world’s petroleum companies use the catalyst for petroleum processing,” he expounded.

He also spoke of Bangka Belitung having good quality kaolin that had, in fact, drawn foreign companies to invest in building a kaolin-based catalyst factory.

"The process (of cooperation) can be carried out through collaboration with Pertamina. This is going to be an extraordinary investment, so we cannot waste this opportunity," Djohan suggested.

He pointed out that Kaolin from the province had, so far, only been exported to China without first being processed, so it had no added value.

However, Djohan also noted that huge investment funds will be required to build a catalyst factory. Hence, the expected cooperation with Pertamina can offer some benefits to the province and people.

"We would like to thank Pertamina for supporting this cooperation plan, and the construction of a catalyst factory would hopefully be realized immediately," he remarked. (ANTARA)