Indonesia launches new state-owned ammonium nitrate factory
Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, on Thursday inaugurated a state-owned ammonium nitrate production facility in Bontang Regency, East Kalimantan. The $76.3mn Kaltim Amonium Nitrat plant will help to boost NPK fertilizer production and strengthen the country’s agricultural sector.
The facility has an annual production capacity of 75,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate and 65,000 tonnes of nitric acid, against a national demand estimated at 550,000 tonnes per year. The factory’s construction was undertaken by the PT Wijaya Karya (Persero)–SEDIN Engineering consortium, covering an area of about 6 hectares.
Bontang region is no stranger to ammonium nitrate production, housing factories owned by PT Kaltim Nitrate Indonesia and PT Black Bear Resources Indonesia, as well as PT Multi Nitrotama Kimia in West Java. However, the new state-owned facility is a strategic addition to the country’s industrial capabilities.
