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Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak officiated the groundbreaking of an integrated aroma ingredients complex, set up by BASF and PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG) via their joint venture company BASF PETRONAS Chemicals. The complex will serve flavour and fragrance as well as food and beverages industry in Asia Pacific region.
The complex, to be built within the existing site in Gebeng, will house a facility to produce citral and its precursors as well as associated downstream plants to manufacture citronellol and L-menthol. The existing site in Gebeng is jointly owned by BASF SE and PETRONAS Chemicals Group (PCG).
Also present at the ceremony were Pahang Menteri Besar, Diraja Haji Adnan Haji Yaakob; Dr Martin Brudermüller; Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, responsible for Asia Pacific, and Chairman of PCG who is also PETRONAS Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Downstream Business, Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.
Dr Martin Brudermüller said, “Our investment in the integrated aroma ingredients complex in Kuantan is a perfect example of how we are implementing our long-term strategy in Asia Pacific. We are collaborating with our longstanding trusted partner, PETRONAS. We are introducing an innovative production technology for the first time into Asia Pacific and we are making another important step towards our objective to achieve local production of 75% of the products we sell in Asia Pacific.”
The MYR1.5 billion (approx. $ 500 million) complex will be developed in phases where the first plants of the complex are expected to come on-stream in 2016 and to create some 120 new employment opportunities.