Indonesia,China to set up economic zone for smelter construction
Monday, June 17 2013 - 07:14 AM WIB
The government of Indonesia and China have agreed to establish an economic zone in eastern Indonesia, in which the Chinese state firms are expected to take part in building smelters there, Industry minister MS Hidayat said on Monday.
Hidayat made the statement after the meeting at the State Palace of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Peng Qinghua, Secretary of Chinese Communist Party Committee of the China Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
He said that currently the draft for the cooperation was being made by experts from China and officials at his ministry, under the coordination of Chinese embassy in Jakarta.
"In the near future there will be MoU, G to G to build an industrial zone, particularly in eastern part of Indonesia, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and may be Maluku, which have been the sources of mineral ores. They will be industry of smelter," said Hidayat.
"Then the government of China will order its state firms to invest huge amount of capital here, because the smelter industry requires a minimum of US$1 billion just for constructing one smelter," he said.
The cooperation would involve local partners and local administration, said Hidayat.
Editing by Adianto P. Simamora