Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the construction of the critical infrastructure had been completed to support the refinery and cracker operations later.
He said the supporting facilities encompassing the Regasification Terminal 2 (RGT2) and Pengerang Co-Generation Plant (PCP) had started to undergo the accreditation process and would meet the industry requirements of the PIC, besides giving the benefits to the community not only in Pengerang but Malaysia generally.
"By 2020, the total investments in PIPC is expected to generate some RM8.3 billion in gross national income, with PIC as the biggest contributor. As of end-September, I have been informed by Petronas that the progress of the PIC project has achieved 77 per cent.
"PIC which I can consider as the 'heart' of PIPC, is expected to drive rapid growth in the development of the downstream industry value chain," he said at the launch of PCP and RGT2 in Pengerang here today.
The text of his speech was read by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
Also present were Petronas Chairman, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan and Petronas President and Group Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.
The Prime Minister said when the refinery comes onstream, the country's refinery capacity would increase by 300,000 barrels per day to 955,000 barrels per day.
"This is in line with our efforts to comply with Euro 5 specifications for petrol and diesel," he said.
When the PIC is operational, Najib said the complex would need around 6,000 to 8,000 workforce and would definitely open up opportunities to the local children to venture into various sectors related to the downstream oil and gas industry.
Meanwhile, he said the RGT2 development would support the gas industry liberalisation initiative in Malaysia and ensure the continuity of gas supply in the future.
"The RGT2 with the capacity of 3.5 million tonnes annually will not only supply gas to other facilities in PIC but also to the Peninsular Gas Utilisation which supplies gas to the whole of the peninsula.
"The country's vibrant economic developments are expected to increase the demand for natural gas, and the construction of the RGT2 would further strengthen the infrastructure to distribute gas in the country," he said.
On PCP, Najib said he was proud of the success of the PCP which had passed through the accreditation process and achieved the commercial date operation on October 21.
The plant will produce 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity and supply continuous steam at a rate of 1,480 tonnes an hour.
"The success of the PCP construction has proven our capability of building the largest co-generation plant in this region using Siemens H-class gas turbine technology," he added.
PCP will also supply 400MW of electricity to the national grid, which will help ensure the stability of electricity supply to the people of Johor and in the southern peninsula.
To support private investments in PIPC, Najib said the federal government, with the cooperation of the Johor state government, is currently implementing 25 critical infrastructure projects worth about RM2.49 billion.
He said the cooperation would speed up the growth of skilled workforce which would support the nation's high income aspiration and subsequently increase global competitiveness.
"Some eight of the 25 packages were already completed while the rest are under development. All projects are expected to be fully completed by 2020," he said.
These efforts were part of the 10th and 11th Malaysia Plans to meet the requirements for utilities, facilities and needs of the locals, he added.