Developing Eco-friendly Asphalt Tech
SK E&C will develop eco-friendly asphalt technology by partnering with a state-run company in Indonesia.
SK E&C announced on Feb. 20 that it signed a technical service agreement (TSA) and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PT Wijaya Karya, Indonesia's largest state-run construction company on Feb. 20. This marked the first time that a Korean construction company made a foray into the Indonesian asphalt market.
About 20 people attended the ceremony held in Jakarta, Indonesia, including Kim Byung-kwon, head of Oil & Gas M&BD Group at SK E&C and the heads of WIKA Bitumen and WIKA. WIKA established in 1960 is Indonesia's largest state-run construction company. Its main business is to build infrastructure such as roads, ports, and railways. It is also investing in power plants, smelters, solar power, and electric motorcycles.
Under the agreement, SK E&C will conduct technical diagnosis and provide solutions for an asphalt production plant run by WIKA Bitumen. WIKA Bitumen, a subsidiary of WIKA, operates a plant which converts natural rock asphalt to high value-added asphalt on Buton Island, Sulawesi of Indonesia. WIKA is going ahead large-scale asphalt plant investment and commercialization through an optimal improvement in the performance of the facility. The company plans to secure licenses on new technologies through joint technology development with WIKA after commercialization.
By 2025, the company plans to carry out basic front end engineering design (FEED) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) on an asphalt plant with an annual production capacity of 700,000 tons on Buton Island, Indonesia. Indonesia which imports about 1.45 million tons of asphalt annually expects to replace 700,000 tons of imports when the plant is completed.