Five foreign firms eyeing RI aluminium smelting projects
Monday, December 17 2012 - 01:29 AM WIB
Panggah Susanto, the director general for manufacturing industry at the industry ministry, said in Jakarta last week that one of the investors is from Dubai and is considering to build an alumina processing plant in Kalimantan.
He estimated that total investment from the five foreign companies could reach US$10 billion, on the assumption that each plant with capacity of between 2 and 3 million tons would require investment of $2 billion.
According to the industry ministry, four companies have so far realized their smelting projects in Indonesia. They include PT Krakatau Posco, PT Indonesia Chemical Alumina, PT Ferronikel Halmahera Timur, and PT Batulicin Steel.
PT Krakatau Posco plans to invest up to $ 2.8 billion for the first stage of its steel plant, with capacity of 3 million tons. PT Indonesia Chemical Alumina has begun the construction of a Chemical Grade Alumina (CGA) plant in West Kalimantan, with capacity of 300,000 tons a year. The company will spend up to $450 million for the CGA project.
In addition, PT Ferronikel Halmahera Timur will also invest about $1.6 billion for the construction of a ferronickel plant in North Maluku, which will have capacity of 27,000 tons of nickel a year. Meanwhile, PT Batulicin Steel is also building a steel plant with capacity of one million tons a year in South Kalimantan. Batulicin will invest $500 million for the steel plant. (*)