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Much work left to be done in aluminum industry, govt admits
While dozens of nickel smelters have been built across the country, the processing of bauxite and other minerals has been left wanting, says a high-ranking official, pointing to shortcomings in the Jokowi administration's key industrial policy.
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Inalum employees prepare aluminum bars at a factory in this undated photograph. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
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government official has admitted that the development of Indonesia’s aluminum industry through downstream processing has a long way to go.
According to Industry Ministry data, there are only two aluminum smelters in the country, with a combined production capacity of 500,000 tonnes a year, half of which is exported, rendering most of the domestic market dependent on imports to meet demand.
The Industry Ministry's director general of metals, machinery, transportation equipment and electronics (ILMATE), Taufiek Bawazier, said that despite the business potential, the country’s downstream aluminum industry suffered from a lack of investment and expansion.
“This is a very promising industry, so [state-owned aluminum producer] Inalum needs to increase its processing capacity three- or fourfold to push aluminum downstreaming,” he told House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing energy and mineral resources during a hearing broadcast live on Tuesday.
Inalum is in the process of expanding its aluminum smelter in Batubara, North Sumatra, according to the ministry, with the aim of adding 25,000 tonnes in annual output capacity this year.
The company also plans to conduct feasibility studies for the North Sumatra smelter and for another one in West Sumatra in 2028 and 2030, respectively, to explore the possibility of adding 600,000 tonnes of output capacity at each smelter.
