TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) left Jakarta for Surabaya on Saturday morning to conduct a working visit to observe the PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) Plant in Kedu Sub-district, East Java.

Presidential Secretariat's Press, Media, and Information Bureau confirmed that President Jokowi was accompanied by First Lady Iriana Jokowi and several cabinet members, including State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir.

The president and his entourage departed from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta aboard the presidential aircraft.

Antara noted that President Jokowi was channeling attention on Indonesia's endeavors to make it the world's exporter of petrochemical products.

On Dec 6, 2019, Jokowi expressed optimism while inaugurating the national petrochemical company PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk's new plant in Cilegon, Banten Province.

During that time, he was optimistic that Indonesia would become one of the world's exporters of petrochemical products within the next four to five years owing to rising investment in this sector.

"I feel, four or five years from now, we will no longer need to import petrochemicals. Instead, we will become an exporter," he stated at an event to inaugurate the national petrochemical company PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk's new plant in Cilegon.

President Jokowi justified his optimism by highlighting PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk's plan to develop the second phase of its petrochemical complex in Cilegon, with investment totalling Rp60 trillion-Rp80 trillion.

The company's petrochemical complex will be built during the period from 2019 to 2024. Once operational, Chadra Asri's production capacity will rise to eight million tons annually, he stated.

Based on a government road map called Making Indonesia 4.0, the chemical industry is one of the five sectors that will become the pioneers in the application of industry 4.0 in the country.

Hence, the chemical industry should be developed to become more productive, innovative, and competitive on the global scene.

ANTARA