Pertamina-led consortium proposes Arun Lhokseumawe SEZ

State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina had on December 22 signed a MoU with two other state-owned firms including fertilizer firm PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda and port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) I, and Aceh government-owned company Perusahaan Daerah Pembangunan Aceh (PDPA) to form a consortium that would propose and operate the Arun Lhokseumawe Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Aceh.

Pertamina said in a statement on Tuesday that the proposed SEZ forms part of efforts to accelerate the revitalization of the former Arun LNG plant in Lhokseumawe and surrounding areas covering operational areas of PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda, PT Pelindo I, fertilizer firm PT Asean Aceh Fertilizer, and paper manufacturer PT Kertas Kraft Aceh with total proposed area of 2,652 hectares.

?We?re committed particularly in supplying energy in Aceh and the SEZ by optimizing the existing assets, currently managed by Perta Arun Gas. So, we?ll focus in supplying LNG requirement in Aceh and the surrounding areas. We will not be making new investment, but more on optimization or revitalization of existing assets,? said Yenni Andayani, Gas Director at Pertamina in the statement.

The statement said that Pertamina, which is the leader of the consortium, will be responsible in the development of the energy sector (oil and gas) along with the supporting infrastructure facilities, Pupuk Iskandar Muda and the Pupuk Indonesia Group will develop environmentally-friendly petrochemical industries, Pelindo I to be in charge for port and logistics, while PDPA to develop agro industry.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak