PM Transcripts

vI.
FOR PRESS 7 FEBRUARY, 1979
ICI AUSTRALIA LIMITED INVESTMENT IN
PETROCHEMICAL EXPANSIONS
The Prime Minister said today he was delighted at the
announcement of ICI Australia's plans to invest in the
expansion of its petrochemical capacity in Australia.
The Company proposes a total investment in the
project of $ 900 million between now and 1986.
This will provide a tremendous immediate boost to the
Botany area of New South Wales where ICI' s existing
complex is to be expanded and also to Victoria where
ICI will develop its recently purchased 766 hectare
site at Point Wilson.
The Prime Minister said he understood the Company's
decision represented a milestone in the development of
the local chemical industry. It will involve the
establishment of production facilities to operate at
close to world scale and an associated improvement
in Australia's competitive position. When completed
the plants will make a major contribution to
Australia's balance of trade.
The expansion will provide more than 1,000 construction
jobs in the first half of 1980 with a peak of about
1,750 jobs. The projects will create an additional
800 operating jobs by 1985.
The Prime Minister said the significant development was
further evidence of the increasing health of the economy
and the success of the Government's economic policies.
There is no way that a major corporation such as ICI would
commit itself to an investment of this magnitude in
Australian manufacturing, if it did not believe that
current Government policies to bring down inflation and
restore economic growth will continue and will
be successful. 000---