President Jokowi Inaugurates Indonesia’s First EV Battery Factory

By Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & Translation     Date 15 September 2021
Category: News
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President Joko Widodo on his remarks at factory groundbreaking ceremony, Wednesday, (15/09). (Photo by: PR/Agung)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Wednesday (15/09) led the groundbreaking ceremony of an electric vehicle battery factory PT HKML Battery Indonesia – the first electric vehicle battery factory in Indonesia.

The factory is located in Karawang regency, West Java province.

“We should be grateful that today we can witness the groundbreaking of the first electric vehicle battery factory in Indonesia and even the first in Southeast Asia with an investment of US$1.1 billion,” President Jokowi said in his remarks.

According to the President, the factory construction serves as the proof of the Government’s seriousness in downstreaming the industry and in changing economic structure from commodity-based to industry-based.

“(We aim) to become a strong industrial country based on technological innovation development,” he added.

For the record, the development of the factory is collaboration between an Indonesian company and a South Korean company.

President Jokowi expressed hope that the cooperation can be further strengthened, including in terms of investment cooperation in battery and electric vehicle industries in order to boost the country’s attractiveness as an investment destination for derivative battery industries.

For this reason, the Government, the President added, is committed to providing support in developing battery and electric vehicle industry ecosystem by providing legal certainty and ease of licensing for business actors and investors to develop their businesses in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Minister of Investment / Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia said that under the cooperation agreement, the factory will prioritize recruiting local workers.

“Foreign workers are only allowed if they meet special requirements and only to fill certain positions,” Bahlil said. (TGH/UN) (GWH/EP)

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