T

he US’ Celanese Corporation, a global technology leader in manufacturing specialty materials and chemical products, is slated to construct an ethanol plant in Indonesia in the fourth quarter of this year.

Industry Ministry director general for manufacturing-based industry Panggah Susanto said on Tuesday that the firm was assessing the location for the facility, which would be part of its total multi-year investment of US$2 billion.

“The firm is seeking a location where the supply of coal, which will be converted into ethanol, is abundant. It can be in Sumatra or Kalimantan,” he said at his office after meeting the firm’s executives and US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel.

Last August, Celanese had inked a deal with its local counterpart Pertamina to cooperate on the project that would generate a ten percent high-octane fuel ethanol blend by 2020 and help cut the state-owned firm’s dependency on gasoline imports by more than 30 million barrels annually.