Airlangga Pede Development Of Green Energy Smelter Completed In 2025

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto revealed that the collaboration in developing green energy-oriented smelters in Indonesia, namely Nickel Industries with Tsingshan, has started the construction of the nickelcobalt (ENC) high pressure acid Leach (HPAL) project in Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP).

"The project will be the first globally in producing three first-class nickel products for the electric vehicle market and its batteries, namely mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), nickel sulphate, and nickel cathode," he explained in his official statement, quoted Wednesday, March 6.

Airlangga said the project was worth 1.76 billion US dollars which is projected to be completed in less than 24 months, with projected workers' needs of 3,500 people, where construction began in October 2023 and is expected to produce the first nickel production in the first half of 2025.

For information, Airlangga has met with Australian business actors who have committed to investing in Indonesia, in the activities of the CEO of Meeting.

As is known, in the implementation of the Indonesia-Australia Annual Leaders' Meeting (ALM) 2023, Indonesian President Joko Widodo mentioned a number of things that are a priority for the two countries to run, namely making economic relations more substantive and strategic through joint development of electric vehicle batteries.

In addition, optimization of the Indonesia's Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), encouraging cooperation in the construction of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), and a green energy orientation smelter in Indonesia, as well as support in the development of the Capital City of the Archipelago (IKN).

The CEO's meeting with Airlangga is a forum for communication for CEOs who want to convey various developments of their investment projects in Indonesia.

The company representatives who attended the event included Managing Director Nickel Industries, CEO Aspen Medical, Chief Financial Officer of Central Queensland University, and Managing Director and CEO of Carbon Aceh.

The development of investment projects submitted included the construction of the first Aspen Medical hospital which had groundbreaking on June 20, 2023 in Depok, West Java. The hospital is targeted to operate in 2026, then will then build the second and third hospitals in Cikarang and Karawang, West Java.

Aspen Medical plans to build 23 hospitals (Class A and B) and 650 clinics with a value of 1 billion US dollars or 1.5 billion Australian dollars which will certainly provide wider jobs.

In addition, Aspen Medical is currently in the process of finalizing a collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the internship program for Indonesian health workers in Australia.

In the education sector, Central Queensland University (CQU) said it had explored several cooperation programs with various stakeholders in Indonesia. Among them are for the implementation of education and research related to innovative agricultural systems and herbal and holtcultural plant research centers. In addition, CQU is currently in the process of establishing campuses in Balikpapan with additional campuses at IKN.

On the other hand, PT PEMA Aceh Carbon, which is a joint venture BUMD Pembangunan Aceh (PEMA) and Carbon Aceh, is currently conducting a feasibility study to determine whether arun Field giant gas reservoir can be used for CO2 storage, which estimates the final storage capacity of around 1 billion tons of CO2.

Airlangga said that this project will be one of the largest CCS projects in the ASEAN region and is expected to contribute significantly to the Aceh economy.

"This project is projected to create extensive employment opportunities, increase revenue and support the development of related industries such as fertilizer production, blue hydrogen, and ammonia production," he explained.

The CEO of the Meeting was also paired with one-on-one meetings to discuss further the opportunities and challenges of business actors in realizing their investment in Indonesia.