PRESIDENT Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has just inaugurated the construction of the first bauxite smelter–smelter grade alumina refinery (SGAR) of PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia–in Mempawah Regency, West Kalimantan, Tuesday (24/9/2024). Jokowi ensured that the downstream program will be continued by President-elect Prabowo Subianto.
“One by one, we can complete them,” said President Jokowi after the inauguration of the first bauxite injection of the smelter grade alumina refinery (SGAR) of PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia, in Mempawah Regency, East Kalimantan, Tuesday (24/9/2024).
Previously, on Monday (23/9/2024), the President inaugurated a smelter for copper cathode production owned by PT Amman Mineral Internasional Tbk in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, followed by the inauguration of PT Freeport Indonesia’s copper smelter in Gresik, East Java.
In Mempawah, West Kalimantan, SGAR phase 1 of the bauxite smelter, a collaboration between PT Antam and PT Inalum, has also been completed. The President hopes that Indonesia will no longer export raw materials. Everything must be processed domestically, thus producing products with added value for Indonesia.
Downstreaming also opens up wide employment opportunities domestically, not only in the mineral and coal sector, but also in the agricultural, maritime and plantation sectors.
“I have had a long discussion with President-elect Prabowo Subianto. Later, he will also start downstreaming in the agriculture, plantation and maritime sectors. This means that the food sector will also enter downstreaming. Added value will emerge domestically,” said Jokowi.
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Therefore, the construction of the PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia smelter is a government effort to make Indonesia an industrial country.
He asked that Indonesia’s natural resources be processed domestically and that raw materials no longer be exported.
“Stop exporting raw materials,” said President Jokowi.
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Because by processing raw materials themselves, the added value will be obtained by the community and the country and this can be seen in the jump in added value in several products whose raw exports have been stopped.
“I’ll give an example for nickel. Before 2020, our raw nickel exports were approximately USD 1.4 to USD billion, meaning around IDR 20 trillion. Once we stopped last year, exports were USD 34.8 billion, meaning almost IDR 600 trillion in added value became our own,” said the President.
Currently, domestic aluminum needs are 1.2 million tons, 56% of which Indonesia still imports. Even though Indonesia has the raw materials.
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Therefore, after the smelter has finished production, it is hoped that it can stop the 56% aluminum import.
“We can stop it, no more imports. We produce it ourselves domestically and we don’t lose foreign exchange. Because from here (56% aluminum imports), Indonesia has to spend approximately USD 3.5 billion in foreign exchange every year, a very large figure, more than IDR 50 trillion of our foreign exchange is lost because of aluminum imports,” said the President.
He said that with the completion of the upstream to downstream ecosystem for the aluminum industry, Indonesia will begin a new chapter as an industrial country.
“This is not an easy struggle. I know it was disrupted here, but with a strong spirit and vision today we can finish it. And this will be the traces of industrialization, the beginning of industrialization in our country Indonesia,” said Jokowi. (Try/P-3)
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