KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 19): Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) plans to build a 60,000 tonnes per annum melamine plant in Gurun, Kedah, which will make it the sole melamine producer in Southeast Asia.

In a statement, PetChem said the plant is targeted to come onstream in 2024 but did not indicate how much it is investing in the plant.

It said the project is in line with its journey to expand into derivatives by adding value to the molecules from its existing products such as urea, methanol, polyolefins and more. It plans to use urea produced from its wholly-owned Petronas Chemicals Fertiliser Kedah (PCFK) unit as feedstock to produce the melamine.

“This is a significant milestone for PCG (PetChem) and further strengthens our strategy of diversifying our product portfolio.

"By housing the plant within the vicinity of PCFK, we will be able to maximise the overall value through the integration of feedstock and utilities with the existing PCFK facility,” said PetChem managing director cum chief executive officer Mohd Yusri Mohamed Yusof.

PetChem shares rose two sen or 0.22% to trade at RM8.97 at the time of writing, giving it a market capitalisation of RM71.76 billion.