President Prabowo, Coordinating Minister for Downstreaming Discuss Progress on Village Electrification, EV Battery Plant

President Prabowo Subianto, Thursday (10/29), received Coordinating Minister for Downstreaming and Energy Transition Bahlil Lahadalia to discuss the progress of village electrification project and electric vehicle (EV) battery project partnership between PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) and China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL).

In his press statement, Bahlil stated that nearly 11,000 villages and hamlets across Indonesia still lack access to electricity. Thus, the Government is preparing to inaugurate 1,413 sites under its 2025 village electrification program, with the inauguration ceremony scheduled to take place soon.

“Around 1,413 sites will be inaugurated soon,” Bahlil said.

The meeting continued with the discussion on the progress of EV battery project partnership between Antam and CATL.

The EV battery plant, whose groundbreaking ceremony was led by President Prabowo a year ago, is set to begin production soon.

The Coordinating Minister said the facility would add to Indonesia’s growing roster of electric vehicle battery plants, and so far, he added, there are already three plants of this kind, namely a Hyundai-owned plant, a plant inaugurated in Halmahera with Chinese investment, and a plant being developed through a joint venture between CATL and Antam.

According to him, these developments reflect the increasing integration of Indonesia’s EV battery ecosystem, from mining and mineral processing to battery cell production. The integration across the production chain, he added, was part of the Government’s efforts to promote downstreaming.

“Perhaps not many countries have this. This is part of our efforts to promote downstreaming,” Bahlil said. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (RAS/TM)