Indonesian President Joko Widodo inaugurates lithium battery anode materials production plant in Kendal Special Economic Zone

KENDAL(TERASMEDIA.ID)-President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated PT BTR New Energy which produces anode materials for lithium batteries in the Kendal Special Economic Zone (KEK) on Wednesday (07/08/2024).

Present at the event were Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin. Tasrif, Acting Governor of Central Java Nana Sudjana, Regent of Kendal Dico Ganinduto and Chairman of BTR New Material Group He Xuequin.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said in his speech that specifically for this economic zone, Indonesia has developed 22 zones from Aceh to Papua.

We say that this special economic zone only existed during the era of President Joko Widodo. “Previously, there was none, and until the first half of this year, the investment was 25.2 trillion, employing 132,227 people. From the SEZ, there were 12 other industries, including the Kendal SEZ. Batang will also be transformed into an SEZ,” said Airlangga. Hartarto.

Airlangga Hartarto also said that with the presence of Kendal SEZ, its contribution to Kendal's growth is 42% and the per capita income in Kendal is already 52 million per year with a growth of 8%.

According to Airlangga Hartarto, since the establishment of Kendal KEK in 2019, which was previously the industrial park area, currently 105 industrial players have entered this area and their investments have reached 55 trillion.

Airlangga said that to develop this KEK, 1,000 hectares of land have been almost used, so the next expansion will be 1,200 hectares. Of course, the port facilities must also be equipped so that logistics can function properly.

Kendal is located in Pantura, and is indeed the engine of the economy of Java island by 57%. And it moves 50 million people and contributes 20%. “So the total area of ​​the Kendal industrial zone is 306,000, of which 36,000 hectares are included in the SEZ, out of the 77,000 industrial zones, which is almost half,” Ailangga said.

Airlangga said that there are two major economic zones in Java outside of Kendal, namely Gresik. However, Gresik accounts for 81 trillion because Gresik is a large company, while Freeport itself accounts for 58 trillion.

President Jokowi appreciated the inauguration of the factory as an important step in creating an electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia.

“I really appreciate the construction of this factory, so that the grand project of building an integrated and strong electric car ecosystem will truly be realized one by one,” Jokowi said.

Jokowi said the plan to develop an electric vehicle ecosystem, decided several years ago, is now beginning to bear fruit. Jokowi recalled that although there were initial challenges such as the ban on nickel exports that triggered pros and cons as well as a lawsuit from the European Union, the move had produced significant results.

“Our nickel exports are now worth $34 billion. “From the previous Rp33 trillion, it has increased to around Rp510 trillion, a very big jump, although again many people did not agree at first,” Jokowi said.

Jokowi also highlighted the development of the nickel and bauxite smelting industry in several regions of the country. Starting from nickel and derivatives smelters in Morowali and Weda Bay, PT Freeport and PT Amman smelters in Sumbawa and Gresik, to bauxite smelters in Mempawah Regency, West Kalimantan.

“So if everything is completed, the ecosystem will be built again, we will be able to enter the global supply chain, which will bring great added value both in terms of labor recruitment and our economic growth,” Jokowi said.

On this occasion, Jokowi also praised the speed of construction of the plant, which took only 10 months since the signing in Beijing. This plant is also expected to be able to produce 80,000 tons of anode materials per year in the next stage, which is equivalent to 1.5 million electric cars.

“This is very important, especially if we add 80,000 tons of production in this industry, it means that there will be 3 million electric cars per year, a very important number for us to become the largest supplier of batteries for electric vehicles and electric vehicles,” Jokowi said.

Jokowi also stressed the government's commitment to continue building a strong and integrated electric vehicle ecosystem, as well as utilizing local resources such as nickel, cobalt and manganese.
“With this step, Indonesia is expected to be able to strengthen its position in the global lithium battery and electric vehicle market,” he stressed (SPW).