Japan's Asahi Glass plans to expand its chlor-alkali production capacity in Indonesia by 30%, by spending Yen 5 billion ($61 million), the company said in a statement late Tuesday.
The new capacity is scheduled to be started up in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Asahi Glass plans to expand capacity at PT Asahimas Chemical, a joint venture in Indonesia with Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. and local partners.
Asahi Glass holds a 52.5% stake in Asahimas, while Mitsubishi owns 11.5%, and local partners in Indonesia hold the remaining 36%.
Asahi Glass' chlor-alkali plant comprises a 350,000 mt/year caustic soda unit and a 250,000 mt/year ethylene dichloride unit. The plant is located in Anyer.
Caustic soda is used for production of soap and paper as well as cleaning agent for alumina. Asahi Glass sees caustic soda demand in Indonesia increasing in coming years, in line with strong economic growth there.
