Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at The Groundbreaking of Construction of Copper Foil Factory, Jakarta, June 20, 2023

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Good afternoon,

May peace be upon us all.

Distinguished Coordinating Minister and all ministers, Governor of East Java, Regent of Gresik;

Consul General of China in Surabaya who is also present this afternoon, Chairman of Hailiang Group Mr. Cou, good afternoon,

Ladies and gentlemen.

This morning, I visited West Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) to see and check the progress of the copper smelter construction by PT Amman. It used to be called PT Newmont, but since it is now fully owned by Indonesia, its name has been changed to PT Amman. I came here just to make sure that the smelter is indeed being built and progressing. And, as we saw in the field earlier, it is already more than 51% completed. It means the smelter will be finished by May next year.

Then I came to Gresik to also check the progress of the smelter of PT Freeport Indonesia, to see how much progress has been made, whether there is any progress or development. So, after this, I will verify it. I have heard that it is already more than 60%, but we will check it thoroughly. Therefore, we also hope that PT Freeport Indonesia can complete its smelter by May 2024. If these two companies complete their smelters, it means we will no longer export raw copper materials because raw materials produced domestically will become copper cathodes with multiplied added value and job opportunities within the country.

This afternoon, I greatly appreciate the development of the copper foil factory being carried out by PT Hailiang Group from China. What does it mean? The output from PT Freeport Indonesia located in this area will also be absorbed, so it will become finished or semi-finished goods that we will use for lithium or electric vehicles batteries, as well as the electric vehicles themselves.

One car requires approximately 59 kilograms of copper. In the future, considering the current cars will change from combustion to electric, imagine the amount of copper needed to make electric vehicles because all conventional cars will be left behind and all will move towards electric vehicles. This not only applies to Indonesia but also for global needs. Since all the materials are here in Indonesia, now famous car brands, famous car factories, electric car companies are all looking at Indonesia and investing in Indonesia.

This is what I often convey, if we can build the integration, if we can integrate the copper we have, the nickel we have, the tin we have, the bauxite we have, not exporting them in raw form, but processing everything domestically, there will be significant added value and job opportunities within the country. This is what will take our country, Indonesia, from a developing country to an advanced country in the next 10-15 years.

For community leaders, religious leaders, and the kiai we love, I have often conveyed this. That is why the upcoming leaders are crucial, very crucial. 2024, 2029, 2034 are very crucial. If we choose correctly, this country will, insha allah, leap forward and become an advanced country. If we make mistakes, it will be like the countries in Latin America. In the 1960s and 1970s, they became developing countries, but until now, they are still developing countries. And we don’t want to be like that; we want our country to become an advanced country.

Returning to the copper foil industry, once again, I greatly appreciate the construction of this factory, and hopefully, it will be completed and in production within 12 months so that it can provide employment opportunities to the people of East Java Province, especially in Gresik Regency. And, we hope that this will also encourage our country to become an advanced nation.

And, by saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, this afternoon, we officially conduct the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Copper Foil Construction Project of PT Hailiang Nova Material Indonesia.

Thank you.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

(AS/LW)