Pakistan needs Naphtha Cracker Complex for industrial growth

ISLAMABAD: Engro Polymer & Chemicals has highlighted the need for building Pakistan's first Naphtha Cracker Complex (NCC) to provide much needed growth in the petrochemicals industry and the company is engaging with various partners such as Mitsubishi, UAE and Chinese companies who have expressed willingness to invest in Pakistan. Imran Anwar, CEO Engro Polymer & Chemicals told this to Federal Commerce Minister Pervaiz Malik in a symposium held here on Monday. This event was attended by the Ambassador of Japan Takashi Kurai, CEO Engro Corporation Ghias Khan, senior delegates from the diplomatic enclave and representatives of the corporate sector were also present.

Engro Polymer & Chemicals, a subsidiary of country's leading conglomerate Engro Corporation, thinks that by developing this facility country’s industrial growth will boost and help control the rising petrochemicals import bill by saving up to $1.5 billion a year which constitutes 4.5 percent of the nation's total $45 billion import bill.

Minister Pervaiz Malik while addressing the gathering said, “The government of Pakistan is cognizant of the importance and the potential of the chemicals and petrochemicals industry. A number of concrete steps are being taken to increase the volume of country’s overall exports and the government wants to work with all relevant stakeholders to chalk out a comprehensive programme that will increase our penetration into global markets.”  It is worth mentioning that Naphtha cracker facility changes petrochemical raw substances into value-added products ranging from construction, home décor, appliances, furniture, medical care, paints, cleaning stuff and top of the line military gadgets. As currently no such facility is in Pakistan, so it has to buy all petrochemical feedstock from international market that takes heavy toll on import bill and prices of long range of items.

The minister further said that Pakistani products could not get their proper market share due to high input cost, assuring that the government was taking remedial measures to this effect so as to make Pakistani merchandise compatible in the global markets while also developing other potential export sectors such as the chemicals industry.

Furthermore, Imran said, it would also generate much-needed direct and indirect employment opportunities in the economically-growing Pakistan, help downstream industry to grow, attract foreign direct investment and increase taxation.

"Let's build our own naphtha cracker as Pakistan needs it," he told the minister. The executive said the $55 billion Chinese investment under CPEC project, which is driving Pakistan's economy to 6pc targeted growth this fiscal year, has created a conducive environment for the naphtha cracker to be built in Pakistan. "Today's market size makes it economically viable". The CPEC, he said, would help Pakistan export PE/PP to western China within 10-15 days. China currently imports PE/PP in excess of $18 billion a year.

Pakistan, a non-hydrocarbon nation, can also build its own cracker like other non-hydrocarbon countries including India has seven, Singapore five, Thailand four, Malaysia three and Indonesia and Turkey have one each crackers. Engro  believes that the construction of a naphtha cracker is economically viable in Pakistan.