The SGAR Mempawah Project Encourages Regional Economic Growth

JAKARTA The Smelter Grade Alumina Refinery (SGAR) Phase I project in Mempawah, which is managed by the Indonesian Mining Industry Holding SOE MIND ID, is claimed to have connected the supply chain for upstream-downstream aluminum production in Indonesia.

MIND ID's Corporate Secretary, Heri Yusuf said the existence of SGAR also helped Indonesia reduce alumina imports as the main raw material for aluminum production, thus contributing to saving state foreign exchange reserves.

With the impact on the macroeconomics being large, SGAR is also able to provide significant benefits for the regional economy, ranging from improving economic performance, absorbing labor, to developing the economy of the surrounding community.

"The construction of the SGAR Phase I in Mempawah, West Kalimantan has become one of the driving forces for economic growth in the Kalimantan region," he said, quoted on Saturday, January 25.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency, Kalimantan's economic growth increased from 3.18 percent in 2021 to 4.94 percent in 2022, and rose again to 5.43 percent in 2023. Until the third quarter of 2024, economic growth in the Kalimantan region continued to show an increase, reaching 5.52 percent C to C.

"During the construction period, SGAR has absorbed more than 2,000 workers, 70 percent of which are local workers," continued Heri.

In its operations, SGAR employs 881 workers, most of whom come from the surrounding community.

PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia (PT BAI), as the operator and manager of SGAR, he said, also consistently runs various social programs to support the economic development of the community.

These programs include the formation of the Karang Taruna Trikarya SME group, the Marine Fish SME group, the BAI SME Exhibition, training on sewing clothes with machines, to marketing digitization training for UMK players around operational areas.

"SGAR is designed to be able to have a real impact on local communities. What's more, people in the regions are one of the main stakeholders who can ensure the sustainability of bauxite downstream in the future," said Heri.