Indonesia continues to attract investors in nickel processing. The latest is a proposed US$780 million loan for new High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) smelter in Obi Island, North Maluku province.

State toll road developer Jasa Marga (JSMR) has quietly moved closer to completion of two sections of Jakarta-Cikampek II Selatan, which will become another alternative to access trans-Java and Jakarta-Bandung toll roads. 

Aceh, the north-western most province in Indonesia, used to be one of petrochemical centers in the country alongside Bontang (East Kalimantan), Cilegon (Banten province), and Gresik-Tuban (East Java). Downfall of natural gas production and delay in development of new gas fields, however, led to closure of some gas-based factories in the province. 

Nickel producer Vale Indonesia (INCO) through PT Bahodopi Nickel Smelting Indonesia (BNSI), a joint venture with TISCO and Xinhai Technology, has on Friday (February 10) kicked off construction of the integrated low-carbon nickel mining and processing project in Bahodopi, Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi.

A preliminary estimates from the US Geological Survey (USGS) pointed to global nickel production at mines of 3.3 million tons last year, of which nearly half was in Indonesia. The largest economy in Southeast Asia reportedly produced 1.6 million tons of nickel at mines, an increase of 54% from the previous year.

Minister of public works and housing Basuki Hadimuljono has on Monday (Feb 6) kicked off physical construction of Probobolinggo-Banyuwangi (175.4 KM) toll road, which is the last section of trans-Java toll road. Construction starts at Section I of the toll road connecting Probolinggo and Besuki (49.68 KM) with estimated investment of Rp10 trillion.

Bahodopi, a sub-district in Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi province will likely become another major nickel-based processing center. Coordinating minister for the economy Airlangga Hartarto is set to kick off construction of US$2.1 billion nickel processing facility in the area this week.

Wuling has increasingly gained traction with its local production of Air ev. Domestic sales is now closer to its production capacity. It is a matter of when it will boost domestic production in Cikarang, West Java province, especially with the government’s plan to start providing subsidies for EV sales this year.

Commercial operation of high-speed train (HST) connecting Jakarta and Bandung (West Java) plus light rail transit (LRT) in the Greater Jakarta in the coming months will likely accelerate development of mass transportation projects in other major cities of Indonesia, especially Surabaya (East Java) and Medan (North Sumatra).