Teguh Adi Prasetyo, Jakarta – The government has classified 15 mineral smelting facilities with a total investment of Rp 248.75 trillion ($15.5 billion) as national strategic projects, Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto announced on Tuesday.
These smelters, mostly still under construction, have a combined annual capacity of 2.57 million tons of ferronickel, 3 million tons of smelter-grade alumina, 680,000 tons of copper cathode, and 1.6 million tons of pig iron, Airlangga said in Jakarta.
These multi-billion-dollar projects include two operational smelters: one operated by Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry with an investment of Rp 30.3 trillion and another by Well Harvest Winning Alumina Refinery with an investment of Rp 5.79 trillion.
The largest projects by investment value include three smelters operated by Bahodopi Nickel Smelting Indonesia, Vale Indonesia Blok Bahodopi, Kolaka Nickel Indonesia, and Vale Indonesia Blok Pomalaa, with a total investment of Rp 95.29 trillion.
Additionally classified as national strategic projects are two smelters built by Freeport Indonesia and Aneka Tambang with a combined investment of Rp 38.35 trillion, scheduled to become operational later this year.
Three more smelters are set to operate next year: Alchemist Metal Industry with an investment of Rp 4 trillion, Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (Rp 15 trillion), and Dinamika Sejahtera Mandiri (Rp 17.4 trillion).
The list also includes three smelters operated by Ceria Nugraha Indotama, Wanxiang Nickel Indonesia, Artabumi Sentra Industri, and Artha Mining Industry, with a combined investment of Rp 35 trillion.
Being classified as national strategic projects means that these smelters receive security protection and other privileges from the state.