Antam Relieved, PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara Stuns 75 MW Of Electricity To Ferronickel Smelters In North Maluku For 30 Years

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has entered into a business partnership with PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) about the supply of electricity to the Ferronickel Smelter in East Halmahera in North Maluku.

PLN President Director, Darmawan Prasojo, said the collaboration between the two SOEs was realized by procuring 75 Megawatts (MW) of electricity for the next 30 years at the smelter location.

“The synergies in the electricity supply for the Ferronickel Smelter in East Halmahera will be implemented in two stages. In the first phase, PLN will supply ANTAM's electricity needs for the next six months. Then in the second stage, it will be carried out for 12 months later", he said in a press statement quoted on Monday, February 14.

On the same occasion, Antam's President Director, Nicolas Kanter, said he was pleased with PLN's support which contributed to the success of the government's downstream program.

"This collaboration is a form of commitment to accelerate mineral downstream, especially about nickel, which can be implemented immediately", he said.

According to Nicolas, his party expects the process of building and connecting electricity to be carried out quickly and accurately by PLN.

"So that in the end it can increase its contribution to the state and provide more benefits, especially for the people around the smelter operating area", he asserted.

The agreement between the two government entities was contained in the signing of the Head of Agreement (HOA) which was held on Thursday, February 10, 2022.

Meanwhile, the Ferronickel Smelter in East Halmahera has a capacity of 13,500 tons of nickel in ferronickel (TNi). Until December 2021, the construction of the Ferronickel Smelter in East Halmahera has achieved construction progress of 98 percent.

Later, when construction is complete, the Ferronickel Smelter in East Halmahera will increase Antam's portfolio of total annual production capacity to 40,500 TNi.