Pupuk Kaltim And Pertamina Petrochemical Trading Agree To Cooperate To Buy Soda Ash

President Director of PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur Gusrizal (right) and President Director of PT Pertamina Petrochemical Trading, Oos Kosasih (left) / (Pupuk Kaltim).

JAKARTA - PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur (Pupuk Kaltim) and PT Pertamina Petrochemical Trading officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the sale and purchase of soda ash cooperation agreement.

The signing is the first step of strategic cooperation between the two companies in the plan to buy soda ash from the factory that is currently being built by Pupuk Kaltim.

President Director of Pupuk Kaltim, Gusrizal said the signing of the MoU was a real step for cross-sector strategic collaboration in strengthening the downstreaming of the national industry.

According to him, this agreement is also a shared commitment in strengthening the independence of the national industry by reducing dependence on soda ash imports as raw material that is important for the ceramic, determinant, glass, solar panels and other industries.

"The start of this collaboration is clear evidence of synergy in strengthening the downstream and independence of the national industry which is in line with the vision of the government's Asta Cita. We appreciate the support from Pertamina Petrochemical and believe the soda ash factory will be an important milestone in strengthening the national industrial ecosystem," he said in his statement, Monday, November 17.

Furthermore, Gusrizal conveyed this cooperation while strengthening the certainty of the domestic market for the East Kalimantan Pupuk soda ash factory when it was operational.

He added that this was supported by the wide distribution network of Pertamina Petrochemical Trading, soda ash products will be marketed optimally in the country to support the government's downstream program, and encourage the realization of national industrial independence.

"This cooperation is expected to be an important foundation for the formation of a global, efficient and sustainable chemical industry ecosystem, as well as support the Net Zero Emission (NZE) target in 2060 through the use of green technology and circular economic principles," he said.

Similarly, the President Director of Pertamina Petrochemical Trading, Oos Kosasih also welcomed the start of this collaboration. He said this collaboration is a tangible form of synergy in supporting the independence of domestically produced raw materials-based industries.

"This collaboration and synergy is in line with the President's mission, for how we can reduce the import rate," he said

Meanwhile, Pupuk Kaltim as part of the Pupuk Indonesia Group previously officially started the construction of the first soda ash factory in Indonesia in the East Kalimantan Industrial Estate (KIE) industrial area in Bontang City, East Kalimantan on October 31, 2025.

The factory with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year, which is targeted to be completed in March 2028, is estimated to be able to meet 30 percent of the national soda ash needs that have been dependent on imports.

In addition to strengthening downstreaming, the construction of the soda ash factory is a strategy for diversifying the Pupuk caltim business based on environmentally friendly products.

The factory also applies circular economic principles by utilizing carbon dioxide (C02) emissions from existing production facilities. When operating, the plant is projected to be able to absorb 174,000 CO2 per year as one of the raw materials for making soda ash.

In addition, the soda ash Pupuk Kaltim factory will also produce side products in the form of 300,000 chloride amonium per year. Amium chlorida is one of the raw materials for making fertilizers that is important to support food self-sufficiency.