VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo released the 2022 first export of smelter-grade alumina from PT Bintan Alumina Indonesia in the Galang Batang Special Economic Zone in Riau Islands on Tuesday (25/10. In a press release of the Presidential Secretariat Press Bureau, the President appreciated the company that was brave enough to downstream the mineral and mining industry. He also reaffirmed the importance of industrial downstream by stopping raw material export. Then, the President encouraged companies to process the raw materials into finished goods and semi-finished goods in order to increase the product's added value.

On the occasion, the President further remarked that Indonesia has a great potential to downstream coal into dimethyl ethyl (DME). The downstream will bring about a lot of profits for the country from personal and company tax to jobs for the people. He also affirmed again that the government will keep stopping raw mineral and coal export despite getting protests from many countries via the World Trade Organization. 

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Economy, Airlangga Hartarto said that the Smelter-grade Alumina (SGA) production in the future will accelerate the downstream of bauxite into the aluminum ingot. It needs domestic industry for various products, such as plate, billet, scrap, and profile that are required in many industrial processes such as aircraft, ship, automotive, and construction.