Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Inauguration of PT GNI’s Nickel Smelter, in Morosi Industrial Estate, Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province, 27 December 2021

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
Good afternoon,
Peace and prosperity be upon us.

Honorable Ministers of the Indonesian Onward Cabinet, present with me: Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Industry, Cabinet Secretary, Minister of Investment;
Honorable Chief of the Indonesian National Police and all ranks of Regional Police Chiefs and  Regency Police Chiefs;
Honorable Governor of Southeast Sulawesi, Governor of Central Sulawesi, and the entire ranks of Forkopimda (the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum), as well as Regent of Konawe and Regent of North Morowali;
Honorable President Director of PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI) and the entire Board of Directors,
President Director of PT Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry and the entire Board of Directors,
President Director of PT Obsidian Stainless Steel and the entire Board of Directors,
President Director of Virtue Dragon Nickel Industrial Park and the entire Board of Directors; and
Ladies and Gentlemen.

I have repeatedly said to stop nickel exports. At the end of next year, I will warm you up by stopping one for bauxite. Then the year after next, we will stop [the exports] for other minerals and coal. Eventually, what will we get? The domestic industry will grow rapidly, the downstreaming will also progress rapidly because there is no choice, those who want to take/buy our raw materials cannot do it anymore. This means that like it or not, we have to establish the industry in our country, so that we no longer export the raw materials, which we have been doing for decades without providing great added value to the country.

And today, we will soon witness the inauguration of a smelter that produces ferronickel with a production capacity of 1.8 million tons per year. Imagine if we only export it in the form of raw materials. Therefore, I really appreciate the construction of the smelter by PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI). This will provide a lot of added value. Processing nickel ore into ferronickel, the added value will increase 14 times and if nickel ore is processed into stainless steel billets, the value will increase 19 times. That is a significant value.

And earlier, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Mr. Airlangga said that the value of Indonesia’s stainless exports this year will jump to approximately US$20.8 billion. Usually, if we export in the form of raw materials, we will only get one to two billion. This is a huge leap.

For that reason, I need to remind all of us, remind the investors, on raw material exports, after nickel, we will move to bauxite. So, for those who want to build an industry, you can build one for the downstreaming of bauxite. Because the opportunity will only open for one year, after that [the export of bauxite] will not be allowed again.

And I also need to remind the regional governments, Mr. Governors, Mr. Regents, to maintain a conducive investment climate so that the expected added value can be achieved. From an industry like this, we will generate taxes, obviously. It will provide employment. It will also bring in significant foreign exchange. Usually, the employment will open in other countries who import our raw materials, but now we will have the opportunity. I asked the President Director, how many workers were recruited here and in Morowali? (A total of) 27,000. This is not a small number, 27,000. So, there will be more industries to come, 27,000, 30,000, 40,000 employments. This is what we want. We want every one of our people to be able to get a job. We do not want to see the raw materials being exported to other countries, but we want them to provide added value to our country in the form of employment, as many as possible.

And secondly, to Governors and Regents, make companies/investors feel safe in carrying out their business activities so that they can increase the investment value in the future. We hope that the people living near the location of this industry will feel the benefits, both related to employment opportunities and also new business opportunities for small businesses, medium enterprises and others so as to increase economic growth in the provinces and regencies where the industry is located.

This concludes my remarks on this auspicious occasion. By saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, today, I hereby inaugurate PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry’s smelter factory in North Morowali regency, Central Sulawesi province.

I thank you.
Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

(FI/LW)