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Chandra Asri’s new plant construction stalled due to permit delays
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Chimneys stand tall at the newly constructed gas processing plants operated by Chandra Asri in the industrial city of Cilegon in Banten, West Java. The plants produce methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and butene1. (Courtesy of Chandra Asri)
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ublicly listed petrochemical and energy firm PT Chandra Asri Pacific (CAP) is facing delays in the construction of new plants that would produce caustic soda and ethylene dichloride (EDC), as the company has yet to acquire their environment impact analysis (Amdal) permits.
Edi Rivai, the company’s legal and external affairs director, said the company had applied for the permits two years ago, but the institution formerly known as the Environment and Forestry Ministry had yet to issue the document.
Edi hopes the company can begin construction as early as January or February next year, which is a postponement from its initial plan of the second half this year.
“We have been processing it for two years and we hope the process can be expedited to maintain investment momentum,” Edi said on Monday.
He also proposed that the project be included in the monitoring of the investment task force under the Investment and Downstream Ministry, to mitigate the impact from social conflict in the surrounding area.
The plants, which would be managed by the firm’s subsidiary PT Chandra Asri Alkali (CAA), are designed to produce over 400,000 tonnes of caustic soda and 500,000 tonnes of EDC annually. They require an investment of between Rp 13 trillion and Rp 15 trillion (US$820-950 million).
Caustic soda is commonly used in alumina extraction, water treatment and the production of textiles, pulp, paper, soap and detergents.
