Jakarta. Lotte Chemical Indonesia’s new petrochemical complex in Cilegon, Banten, will help create tens of thousands of jobs and cut the country’s reliance on imported chemical feedstocks, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said.

The Golkar Party chairman said on Thursday that the $3.9 billion project, backed by Korean and Indonesian engineering teams, had directly and indirectly created an estimated 40,000 jobs since construction began in 2022. At its peak construction phase, he said, more than 17,000 workers were on site.

“This project has already created around 40,000 jobs once you count both direct and indirect work, such as construction and technical support,” Bahlil told reporters during the inauguration ceremony.

The integrated complex will produce 15 petrochemical products, including ethylene, propylene, high-density and low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, mixed C4, butadiene, BTX, and hydrogen. These are key materials for downstream sectors ranging from medical equipment and synthetic rubber to auto components and cables.

According to Bahlil, around 70 percent of the plant’s output will be sold domestically as import substitution, while the remainder will go to overseas markets. Lotte Chemical Indonesia targets annual sales of about $2 billion, which the minister said could inject $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion into the domestic economy each year.

He added that the investment fits within President Prabowo Subianto’s broader industrial policy push to stop exporting raw materials and instead process them onshore to capture higher value, create employment and strengthen Indonesia’s industrial base.

“Our natural resources should no longer leave the country in raw form; they must be processed here so the added value stays in Indonesia,” Bahlil said.

Commercial operations started in October 2025. The ministry expects the complex to become a major anchor for downstream chemicals, further reducing imports and increasing Indonesia’s role in global petrochemical supply chains.

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