Aromatic plant built

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Investment and Chairman of Investment Coordinating Board Sanyoto Sastrowardoyo has inaugurated the construction of a US$850 million aromatic plant by Bechtel of the United States at Arun, Aceh.

The plant project, owned by PT Humpuss Aromatic which is controlled by Hutomo Mandala Putera, will be designed for an annual capacity of 370,000 tons of paraxylene and 160,000 tons of benzene.

At the ground breaking ceremony on Tuesday Sanyoto said that both paraxylene and benzene are much needed by downstream petrochemical plants. Paraxylene is the material for making purified terephthalic acid (PTA) which is a basic material used in the textile industry.

The country's need of paraxylene which is estimated at approximately 240,000 tons per year currently is expected to increase to 650,000 tons in the year of 2000.

The plant, slated to come on stream within three years, will require 70,000 barrels of condensate a day from the Arun gas field. (04)