Indonesia kicks off construction of ‘green’ industrial park on Borneo
Indonesia on December 21 began with the construction of a new industrial estate in its part of Borneo island which will focus on plants producing items including semiconductors, lithium-ion batteries, solar panels and aluminium products and will use electricity generated from a new hydropower plant, local media reported.
Located in Bulungan regency, North Kalimantan province on Borneo, the estate will be an expansion of an existing industrial park which currently spans over 16,400 hectares and is targeted to be expanded to 30,000 hectares. The expansion would include investment from China and the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said during a groundbreaking ceremony.
“Indonesia’s economic transformation starts here where we will manage our natural resources from upstream to downstream to create massive job availability,” Widodo said.
Jokowi is keen to establish manufacturing industries to take advantage of Indonesia’s rich natural resources such as nickel, bauxite and copper so that the country can move up the value chain and not just export raw materials.
The green industrial park is expected to become a major impetus for job creation. Its construction alone will require at least 100,000 workers. Once it operates, the estate could create jobs for more than 200,000 workers, according to Widodo. This would be about one fifth of North Kalimantan’s entire population.
Improved infrastructure, more industrial facilities for Kalimantan
The move to build the estate and is also part of an improvement of infrastructure and industrial facilities in Indonesia’s five provinces on Borneo, of which East Kalimantan will see the creation of Indonesia’s new capital.
North Kalimantan, the country’s least populated and youngest province bordering Malaysia’s Sabah and Sarawak states, has an economy which is largely based on mining, agriculture, fishery and forestry and would strongly benefit from wider diversification and improved infrastructure.
$12 billion for new hydropower plant
With regards to the new industrial estate, the government says it would be “green” as it would use only hydropower energy. Up to $12 billion of investment are needed for the hydropower project alone and nearly $1 billion for a new port, which is additionally planned, coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment Luhut Pandjaitan said at the event.
Among interested investors are Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group and China’s Tsingshan Holding Group, which could invest billions of dollars at the industrial park, the minister said.
Indonesia on December 21 began with the construction of a new industrial estate in its part of Borneo island which will focus on plants producing items including semiconductors, lithium-ion batteries, solar panels and aluminium products and will use electricity generated from a new hydropower plant, local media reported. Located in Bulungan regency, North Kalimantan province on Borneo, the estate will be an expansion of an existing industrial park which currently spans over 16,400 hectares and is targeted to be expanded to 30,000 hectares. The expansion would include investment from China and the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said...
Indonesia on December 21 began with the construction of a new industrial estate in its part of Borneo island which will focus on plants producing items including semiconductors, lithium-ion batteries, solar panels and aluminium products and will use electricity generated from a new hydropower plant, local media reported.
Located in Bulungan regency, North Kalimantan province on Borneo, the estate will be an expansion of an existing industrial park which currently spans over 16,400 hectares and is targeted to be expanded to 30,000 hectares. The expansion would include investment from China and the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said during a groundbreaking ceremony.
“Indonesia’s economic transformation starts here where we will manage our natural resources from upstream to downstream to create massive job availability,” Widodo said.
Jokowi is keen to establish manufacturing industries to take advantage of Indonesia’s rich natural resources such as nickel, bauxite and copper so that the country can move up the value chain and not just export raw materials.
The green industrial park is expected to become a major impetus for job creation. Its construction alone will require at least 100,000 workers. Once it operates, the estate could create jobs for more than 200,000 workers, according to Widodo. This would be about one fifth of North Kalimantan’s entire population.
Improved infrastructure, more industrial facilities for Kalimantan
The move to build the estate and is also part of an improvement of infrastructure and industrial facilities in Indonesia’s five provinces on Borneo, of which East Kalimantan will see the creation of Indonesia’s new capital.
North Kalimantan, the country’s least populated and youngest province bordering Malaysia’s Sabah and Sarawak states, has an economy which is largely based on mining, agriculture, fishery and forestry and would strongly benefit from wider diversification and improved infrastructure.
$12 billion for new hydropower plant
With regards to the new industrial estate, the government says it would be “green” as it would use only hydropower energy. Up to $12 billion of investment are needed for the hydropower project alone and nearly $1 billion for a new port, which is additionally planned, coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment Luhut Pandjaitan said at the event.
Among interested investors are Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group and China’s Tsingshan Holding Group, which could invest billions of dollars at the industrial park, the minister said.
