Jakarta. Chinese company Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable, or YOFC, the world's largest supplier of optical fiber, inaugurated a $30 million facility in Karawang, West Java, on Friday (09/09).

The plant is controlled by YOFI, a joint venture which sees the Chinese firm owns a 70 percent and local investor Monas Permata Persada owns the remainder.

Built on a 1.5 hectare site at Surya Cipta industrial estate in Karawang, the facility is the first YOFC's plant in Southeast Asia.

"The plant has a production capacity of 3 million kilometers of optical fiber per year," Chen Hui Xiong, president director of YOFI, said

Jan Bongaer, president commissioner of YOFI, said Indonesia has a promising future for optical wires, with a growing population and demand for broadband infrastructure.

YOFI is seeking to grow its investment in Indonesia and double production capacity, he said.

Santoso, president director of local investor Monas Permata, said the land area controlled by YOFI allows the company to extend its production facility to 12 million kilometers of optical fiber annually, boosting total investment to $80 million.

I Gusti Putu Suryawiryawan, director general of metals, machinery, transportation equipment and electronics at the Industry Ministry, pointed to the Palapa Ring telecommunication infrastructure project as the type of project to be supported by the firm.

The Palapa Ring will connect all 34 provinces in the country with optical fiber by both land and under seas and will need around 36 million kilometers of fiber optics.

Suryawiryawan said YOFI's presence will help reduce dependency on imported fibre for the nation's industry.