Bahlil Lahadalia, Investment Minister/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), revealed the UK’s plan to build a battery factory in Bantaeng Regency, South Sulawesi. The investment value reaches IDR 135 trillion. On Friday 31 July 2023, Bahlil was authorized to accelerate investment. He also reported this directly to President Joko Widodo.
“We just had a meeting with the President and several cabinet members, Ministers, and the President Director of Antam to discuss British investment in Indonesia related to acceleration in building a car battery ecosystem,” Bahlil said after the meeting at the Presidential Palace Area, Central Jakarta, 31 May.
Bahlil said that the UK will build a battery factory in Bantaeng with a capacity of 20 gigawatts. The construction of the plant is carried out by British company EVision, Swiss company Glencore, Belgian company Umicore, and PT Antam Indonesia, with a total investment of around US$9 billion or around IDR 135 trillion. The plan is that the construction of the battery factory in Bantaeng will be accelerated and built in an industrial area with clean energy, precisely with wind energy.
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“This investment will be built in a green energy industrial area, which will use wind power in Sulawesi in Bantaeng. We will do this soon, then there is a nickel mine from Papua and the process is now underway,” said Bahlil. “If we can accelerate this, we will invest in the construction of car batteries to cell batteries,” he added.
Groundbreaking in September, Bahlil added that the acceleration that Jokowi expects from his party is the acceleration of the licensing process. Even so, it must still comply with the applicable mechanisms and rules. The target is that the investment can be realized in September this year.
“So, let’s not be slow only with studies, this country has too many studies until our principal, the president’s direction is clear, asking for acceleration in September everything is finished,” said Bahlil.
Bahlil said he hoped to start construction of the 20-gigawatt-capacity battery plant in September. “Anyway, it must be completed and groundbreaking must have started at the location and everything is clear in September,” Bahlil said.
Source: detik.com
