Erick Thohir: Mempawah Alumina Smelter Has A 3-fold Impact On The Indonesian Economy

SOE Minister Erick Thohir (Youtube screenshot of Presidential Secretariat by Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir said Smelter Grade Alumina Refinery (SGAR) in Mempawah, West Kalimantan provides added value for the Indonesian economy. In fact, he said, up to three times.

Smelter Grade Alumina Refinery (SGAR) in Mempawah, West Kalimantan officially operates with the inauguration of its first bauxite injection today by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) today.

"And also this is for regions and national impacts three times more than economically and I think this is extraordinary," Erick said as quoted from the Presidential Secretariat's live YouTube channel, Tuesday, September 24.

With the presence of SGAR, Erick believes that the import dependence of alumni can be reduced, and Indonesia can save the country's foreign exchange.

"Indeed, we want to suppress imports, sir, to suppress imports so that our money doesn't come out," he said.

For your information, SGAR is a project owned by PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia (PT BAI) which is a subsidiary of PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Inalum) and PT Aneka Tambang Tbk or Antam, who are members of the MIND ID mining BUMN Holding.

Today's first bauxite injection is an early marker of SGAR project production phase 1. After that, the project will continue to phase 2. The smelter will be able to produce 2 million tons of alumina per year.

Later, the alumina will be processed into aluminum, with an aluminum production target of up to 900,000 tons per year. Indonesia's aluminum needs for the period 2018 to 2023 are 1.2 million tons per year.