The technology group The Linde Group has closed a long-term deal to supply the Indonesian steel corporation PT. Krakatau POSCO (PTKP) with industrial gases. PT. Linde Indonesia, member of The Linde Group in Indonesia, and PTKP recently signed an agreement to this effect. PTKP is a joint venture between the South Korean steel corporation POSCO and Krakatau Steel. Linde will invest around EUR 88 million in constructing the country's largest air separation unit (ASU) at Cilegon, around 100 kilometres west of Jakarta.

"This on-site project is Linde's largest single investment in Indonesia to date," said Sanjiv Lamba, Member of the Executive Board of Linde AG and responsible for the company's business in Asia. "We are thus consolidating our position in one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. This move is another milestone in our strategy to systematically build our business in Asia's emerging economies."

PTKP is constructing the first integrated steelworks in Southeast Asia at Cilegon. Annual production capacity is initially set at three million tonnes of steel. To supply the steelworks with gases on site, Linde's Engineering Division will plan and construct a new ASU with a daily capacity of around 2,000 tonnes of oxygen. In addition to gaseous products for the steelworks, the new ASU will also generate oxygen, nitrogen and argon in liquid form for the local market. This will ensure a steady supply of these gases to meet rising demand for industrial gases in Western Java. The ASU is scheduled to go on stream in October 2013.

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 48,700 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2010 financial year, it achieved sales of EUR 12.868 bn. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment - in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.

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