Plt. Director General of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Textile Industry (IKFT) Ignatius Warsito said, Indonesia will become a major petrochemical producer in ASEAN. Along with increased investment and expansion in the national petrochemical industry. According to him, in the period from 2020 to 2030, the government is trying to oversee the construction projects of the giant chemical industry with a total investment value of US$31 billion. This investment will strengthen commodities in the upstream chemical sector and be able to substitute petrochemical products that are still imported. Such as ethylene, propylene, BTX, butadiene, polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP).

Currently, said Ignatius, the national industrial capacity for these products reaches 7.1 million tons per year. And, to meet the growing domestic demand, it is necessary to increase its production capacity.

"With a large investment in the petrochemical industry which is currently fully supported by the government, Indonesia will become the Number 1 petrochemical producing country in ASEAN with an additional total olefin capacity of 5.7 million tons per year and an additional total polyolefin capacity of 4.7 million tons. per year," said Ignatius in a written statement on the launch of PT Asahimas Chemical's Export in Cilegon, Banten, Friday (1/4).

Ignatius said that the chemical industry is the top three contributors to the performance of the non-oil and gas processing industry and spurs national economic growth. Indonesia has a target to increase investment in the chemical industry in order to substitute imports of chemical materials and goods.

"In 2021, the export value of chemicals and chemical goods will reach US$18.86 billion. In the midst of the pandemic and economic recovery, we continue to strive to improve the trade balance deficit in the chemical industry sector," he said.

He added that the petrochemical industry is a strategic sector at the upstream level which is the basic capital and main prerequisite for the development of downstream industries such as plastics, fiber cloth, textiles, packaging, electronics, automotive, medicine and other important industries.

"The success or failure of the government in developing the national industry, one of which is greatly influenced by the profile of the petrochemical industry," said Ignatius.

On the other hand, he added, the chemical industry is characterized by capital-intensive and very large investment value, specific raw material requirements, high risk on the safety side, and very tight competition from the business side.

Meanwhile, PT Asahimas Chemical increases the capacity of PVC products by 200 thousand tons per year, the company will also increase domestic supply in anticipation of increasing domestic PVC demand, as well as increase the potential of the export market.