Pupuk Kujang makes 600,769 tons of urea

JAKARTA (JP): PT Pupuk Kujang, one of the country's four state-owned fertilizer producers, produced 600,769 tons of urea fertilizer last year.

The company's president, Edi Madnawidjaja, said after producing the last urea fertilizer product of 1997 on Thursday, last year's urea output was slightly higher than in 1996.

Edi said that in 1997, the company also produced 380,181 tons of ammonia.

Pupuk Kujang, which is based in Cikampek, West Java, recorded total sales of Rp 158 billion (US$31.6 million) and a net profit of Rp 40 billion in 1997.

He said the company was now preparing for the construction of a new plant in the same industrial complex to replace the current aging plant which had been operating for over 19 years.

"The construction of the new Kujang plant ... is expected to start in early 1998 and will be completed in 2000," Antara quoted Edi as saying.

He said the new plant was expected to produce 570,000 tons of urea fertilizer per year by 2000.

Separately, state-owned PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda in Krueng Geukueh, North Aceh, said it produced 639,078 tons of urea fertilizer in 1997, up from 619,804 tons in 1996.

Antara quoted the company's director, Omay Komar, as saying Wednesday the company had produced 391,995 tons of ammonia in 1997.

The government announced late last year that four fertilizer producers would be consolidated into South Sumatra-based PT Pusri as part of the government's restructuring program in fertilizer production.

The four fertilizer producers include PT Petrokimia Gresik in East Java, PT Pupuk Kaltim in East Kalimantan, PT Pupuk Kujang in West Java and PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda in Aceh.

PT Pupuk Kaltim produces about 1.71 million tons of urea fertilizer a year, with Pupuk Kujang making 600,769 tons, Pupuk Iskandar Muda 627,000 tons and Petrokimia Gresik 460,000 tons.

Petrokimia also makes 600,000 tons of triple-superphosphate fertilizer and a million tons of ZA fertilizer a year.

Pupuk Kaltim has Rp 936 billion in paid-up capital, Petrokimia Gresik Rp 396.42 billion, Pupuk Kujang Rp 228.21 billion and Iskandar Muda Rp 268.42 billion as of September last year. (aly)