Airlangga states Indonesia excels in downstreaming development

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga stated that Indonesia possesses several advantages in developing downstreaming projects, particularly from natural resources to investment facilitation.

“Indonesia has a comparative advantage. Other countries do not have the raw materials, so downstreaming demonstrates Indonesia’s comparative advantage and competitiveness, making this a strength for Indonesia moving forward,” said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

During a press conference at the Office of the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta on Thursday, he assessed that Indonesia’s investment cost structure is also relatively lower compared to other countries in the Southeast Asian (ASEAN) region.

This, he continued, is further supported by a variety of energy sources, both fossil energy and new renewable energy (NRE), which provide flexibility for industries in terms of production cost efficiency.

“We have a combination of renewable and non-renewable. We just need to enhance our competitiveness by building the Sumatra-Java electricity network. Today Java has excess capacity, but in 3-4 years, demand will absorb this excess, so connectivity between Java and Sumatra is important,” he said.

Airlangga exemplified the development of geothermal power plant (PLTP) projects in Aceh and West Sumatra, which are currently in the pipeline phase, as strategic efforts to increase national energy capacity if connected to the demand centres in Java.

“Several of our geothermal projects are continuing in the pipeline, including those in West Sumatra and Aceh. If the supply connects with the demand side in Java, this will be even better,” he said.

“In terms of investment for renewables, yesterday Japan, as the leader of the Asia Zero Emission Committee, provided additional funds for the current energy crisis for investments amounting to 10 billion USD,” said Airlangga.

“This means, besides having demand, raw materials, and the capability for renewable energy, global funding is also available. So everything depends on Indonesian entrepreneurs to utilise what has been provided,” he added.