Indonesia Will Have First Soda Ssh Factory In Gresik

JAKARTA - Investment Minister/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia fully supports the plan to build a soda ash or Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3) factory owned by PT Petrokimia Gresik which is claimed to be the first in Indonesia.

Soda ash is an important raw material used in a variety of applications such as the manufacture of glass, detergents and soaps, chemicals and many other industrial processes. So far, the demand for soda ash has been met from imports.

The soda ash project is a response to the industry's growing demand and will grow to 4 percent per year. This was also driven by the growth of other industries such as the glass and ceramics, soap and detergent industries.

The production of soda ash from the PT Petrokimia Gresik factory is planned at 300,000 tons per year to substitute the national import of soda ash needs to reach 75 million US dollars per year.

In addition, the raw materials have been produced by a factory owned by PT Petrokimia Gresik which also has adequate infrastructure. The factory is targeted to be operational by the end of 2024.

PT Petrokimia Gresik is a subsidiary of PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) which is the most complete fertilizer factory in Indonesia located in Gresik Regency, East Java with an area of more than 450 hectares. Currently, PT Petrokimia Gresik has 31 factories with a total fertilizer and non-fertilizer production capacity of 8.9 million tons per year.

Bahlil's support for PT Petrokimia Gresik, East Java was stated by a direct visit, Friday, September 10. Bahlil and his staff were welcomed by Deputy President Director of PT Pupuk Indonesia Nugroho Christijanto and President Director of PT Petrokimia Gresik Dwi Satriyo Annurogo.

"We are carrying out the President's order to immediately assist both state-owned enterprises and national private companies who want to develop industrial products for imported substitutes," he said in a written statement in Jakarta, Saturday.

Bahlil appreciated the good cooperation between the Ministry of Investment and PT Petrokimia Gresik and other relevant ministries in accommodating the licensing process and facilitating the acceleration of this investment project.

The Ministry of Investment will continue to oversee the construction process for the soda ash project, which has an investment value of IDR 4.5 trillion and is targeted for completion in the next three years.

Bahlil encourages State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) to optimize all potential yields of upstream industrial raw materials so that they can be utilized and gain added value. Thus, SOEs that earn profits will increase state revenues and the results can be enjoyed by the people in the form of development.

"We will encourage, fully assist, both in terms of incentives and licensing. If you have problems, please come to the Ministry of Investment for facilitation assistance," he concluded.

President Director of PT Petrokimia Gresik, Dwi Satriyo Annurogo, said that soda ash is a commodity whose demand reaches 1,000,000 tons per year which is still fully imported. This soda ash project will meet the needs of the Indonesian market and become an import substitution product.

"We are grateful for the full support and assistance from the Minister of Investment for the construction of a soda ash factory on the land of PT Petrokimia Gresik," said Dwi.