VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Environment and Forestry Ministry has reported that it is facing difficulties in extinguishing a forest and land fire on Mount Bromo, East Java, which was sparked by the use of a flare during a pre-wedding photo session.

"Access to the burning sites is difficult, (as the terrain is) hilly and steep," the ministry's director of forest and land fire control, Thomas Nifinluri, said here on Monday.

According to him, the fire has been blazing for five days and is becoming increasingly widespread.

He said the difficult terrain is limiting the progress of the firefighting team, in addition to strong winds that are feeding the fire.

The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Agency has been forced to close all access to the Mount Bromo tourist area to ease fire-fighting operations.

"The closure is effective from Sunday, September 10, 2023, starting at 7 p.m. local time, until an undetermined date," Nifinluri informed.

Based on information provided by the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), the area of forest and land burned in the fire on Mt. Bromo has reached 274 hectares.

Nifinluri said the government will calculate the burned area by using satellite imagery.

The fire handling is being carried out with the East Java provincial and Malang task force teams, volunteers, the fire awareness community, and the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Agency's fire-handling team.

On the second day of the fire handling operation, a team was deployed to conduct water bombing from the air with the support of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

Meanwhile, the national park agency has closed four entrances to the national park area due to the forest and land fire.

All entrances, Coban Trisula in Malang, Wonokitri in Pasuruan, Cemorolawang in Probolinggo, and Senduro in Lumajang, have been closed as of Monday.

The agency has asked people traveling on the Malang-Lumajang route via Poncokusumo and Senduro to find alternative routes. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Nusantara National Capital Authority (OIKN) has so far received 281 letters of intent (LoIs) from private investors for the development of the new capital Nusantara (IKN).

"Until recently, we have obtained 281 LoIs," deputy for funding and investment at OIKN, Agung Wicaksono, said at DPR Building in Jakarta on Monday.

Most of the LoIs have come from ASEAN countries, he added.

"The majority have come from Singapore with 27 LoIs, followed by Jepang 25 LoIs, Malaysia 19 LoIs, and also China 17 LoIs," he informed.

He expressed the hope that the increase in the number of LoIs will be a positive impact of the promotion of IKN at the 43rd ASEAN Summit.

Based on Law Number 3 of 2022 on the state capital city (IKN), Indonesia is targeting to become one of the five strongest economies in the world with an income per capita of a high-income country by 2045.

The targets were set based on the four main pillars of Indonesia's 2045 Vision, namely: human development and mastery of science and technology (IPTEK), sustainable economic development, equitable development, as well as strengthening national resilience and governance.

The shifting of the capital to IKN is one of the strategies for realizing Indonesia's 2045 economic targets, namely more inclusive and equitable economic growth by accelerating development in Indonesia's eastern region. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita has assured that the government will monitor the fulfillment of nickel demand, which has continued to increase with the development of the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

He informed that his ministry has prepared a road map for the development of the battery-based electric vehicle (KBLBB) industry, which sets the quantitative target for the production of four-wheeled electric vehicles at 1 million units by 2035 and for two-wheeled electric vehicles at 12 million units.

"In accordance with this target, the projected need for nickel as raw material for batteries, especially the NMC 811(nickel, manganese, cobalt) battery type to support the EV development program will continue to increase," he informed in a statement on Monday.

He said that the government is actively encouraging the downstream industry in order to increase the added value of mineral raw materials in the country.

He then explained that the increase in added value from processing nickel ore into nickel matte is 14 times; if processed into pure nickel as material for batteries, it can reach 19 times; and if it becomes a precursor, it can reach 340 times.

"Since President Joko Widodo's leadership, he has continuously tried to maintain raw materials' added value to remain in Indonesia," Kartasasmita noted.

He said he hoped that the construction of the smelter industry for the downstream program would provide a variety of raw materials in sufficient quantities and have a positive impact on the growth of other industrial sectors.

The government has also implemented several policies and initiatives to attract domestic and foreign investment to encourage the establishment of new industries and the expansion of existing industries, he added.

Kartasasmita said that as a strategic sector in the economy and one of the driving forces for other manufacturing industry sub-sectors, the metal industry has continued to grow in double digits in recent years. In 2022, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the basic metal industry sector reached Rp124.29 trillion, or up 14.80 percent compared to 2021.

Currently, there are 38 stand-alone nickel smelters operating under the guidance of the Industry Ministry with an investment value of up to US$15.8 billion, he added.

Of the 38 smelters, 35 are pyrometallurgy smelters, while the rest are hydrometallurgy smelters with the final product being MHP (mixed hydroxide precipitate), which can be further processed into raw material for electric vehicle batteries, he explained.

In an effort to meet raw material needs and prioritize domestic industrial downstreaming, the ministry has appreciated investment in the nickel smelter industry in Indonesia, one of which is being carried out by PT Mitra Murni Perkasa (MMP), a company with 100 percent domestic investment.

The nickel smelter is set to produce 27 thousand MT of nickel matte per year, which will be used as raw material for batteries. The smelter is scheduled for commissioning in 2025.

He said that PT MMP's nickel smelter will be the second in Indonesia to produce nickel matte.

"This proves that domestic investment is not impossible. It can build a large nickel smelter industrial project, worth tens of trillions of rupiah, to support the national electric battery industry," the minister disclosed.  (Antaranews)

The Afghan Taliban criticised the closure of its main border crossing with Pakistan this week after clashes between security forces, saying the halt in trade would see heavy losses for businesses.

The busy Torkham border crossing closed on Wednesday after Pakistani and Afghan Taliban forces started firing at each other, according to local officials.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan deems the closure of Torkham gate and opening of fire on Afghan security forces by the Pakistani side contrary to good neighbourliness," Taliban administration's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late on Saturday.

The statement said the incident had started after Pakistani security forces fired at Afghan Taliban forces fixing an old security outpost near the border. Pakistan's foreign office did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Hundreds of trucks laden with goods have been halted and traders have complained that trade is affected.

"The closure of Torkham gate can adversely affect bilateral and regional trade, and cause trade and financial losses to common mercantile class on both sides," the statement said, adding many travellers were also stuck on each side of the border.

Disputes linked to the 2,600 km (1,615 mile) border have been a bone of contention between the neighbours for decades. (Reuters)