Bauxite Project Loses To Nickel, Bahlil Wants To Gather Business Actors

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia. (Photo: Maria/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia plans to gather bauxite mining business actors to accelerate the establishment of a bauxite refining facility (smelter).

Bahlil said that one of the problems that caused the stagnation of the construction of the bauxite smelter was the lack of financing for the smelter construction.

"The problem now is how we encourage acceleration. Maybe one of them is financing times. I'm still inviting friends from business actors," said Bahlil, quoted on Saturday, November 30.

Bahlil admits that the construction of bauxite smelters is still lagging behind when compared to other mineral commodities such as nickel which already has many refining industries

"Indeed, I admit that the speed of downstream nickel is much faster than bauxite," he continued.

He ensured that he would encourage business actors to conduct a consortium so that the construction of smelters could be carried out more quickly. Bahlil imitated the establishment of a bauxite smelter by PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia (BAI) in Mempawah which is an inter-BUMN consortium such as PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTM) with PT Indonesia Asahan Alumina (Inalum)

"Yesterday in West Kalimantan, what we have just inaugurated has BUMN. Well, maybe we also encourage others (consortium)," said Bahlil.

Previously, the Chairman of the Permanent Minerba Committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Arya Rizqi Darsono, approved the proposal of the Indonesian Bauxite and Iron Ore Entrepreneurs Association (APB3I) to form a consortium of bauxite smelters.

Arya also suggested that apart from forming a consortium, regional clusters such as the Central Kalimantan Cluster and the Riau Islands Cluster must also be formed.

"Everyone gathered so that a consortium was formed, so they both thought they could reduce the existing burden. Our interest is how these members of the West Kalimantan Chamber of Commerce and Industry can get out of their struggles with this export restriction having a very impact," he said in the Mining Zone quoted Monday, July 15.

According to Arya, this concept needs to be finalized again because it can overcome budget problems that are currently faced by bauxite entrepreneurs who have difficulty building smelters.