The story
After the establishment of PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja located in Palembang in 1959, the government also facilitated the construction of other fertilizer factories. The forerunner of PT Petrokimia Gresik since 1956 through the State Design Bureau (Biro Perancang Negara - BPN). At first, the fertilizer plant built in East Java was called 'Surabaja Petrochemical Project'. The name of Petrokimia itself comes from 'Petroleum Chemical' which is abbreviated to Petrochemical, namely chemicals made from petroleum and natural gas.
The Surabaja Petrochemical Project is determined based on MPR Decree No. II of 1960 which was listed as a Priority Project in the Pattern of National Development Planning for Phase I (1961-1969) and confirmed by Decree of the President of the Republic of Indonesia No. 260 of 1960.1 / Instr / 1963 and declared as a Vital Project in accordance with Presidential Decree no. 225 of 1963.
Gresik was chosen as the location of fertilizer factories as a result of a feasibility study in 1962 by the Industrial Project Preparation Agency (BP3I) coordinated by the Ministry of Industry and Mining. At that time, Gresik agreed with the considerations, including:
Availability of 450 hectares of vacant land.
It is quite close to the availability of water sources from the main rivers of Java; Brantas River and the Bengawan Solo River.
Adjacent to the largest fertilizer consumer area, namely plantations and sugar cane farmers because Java is the largest agriculture producer.
Close to the coastal area, making it easier to transport factory equipment during the construction, procurement of raw materials, and distribution of production by maritime transport.
Part of Surabaya Metropolitan Area (Gerbangkertosusila), economic hub of Indonesia.
From Wikipedia’s article on Petrokimia Gresik, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5