Bauxite Downstream Investment Surges, Surpassing Nickel
Investment and Downstreaming Minister/Head of BKPM Rosan Perkasa Roeslani stated that bauxite has for the first time displaced nickel as the commodity with the largest downstream investment realisation in Indonesia in the second quarter of 2026. The shift was driven by increased construction of bauxite processing and refining facilities (smelters) by both domestic and foreign investors.
Downstream bauxite investment realisation in Q2 2026 reached Rp 40.1 trillion, a 193 per cent surge compared to Q1 2026, which stood at Rp 13.7 trillion. This achievement placed bauxite at the top of national downstream investment, surpassing nickel, which had previously been the primary commodity.
“If we look at this, nickel has always been number one. Now there is a shift, bauxite has become number one because there are several bauxite smelter constructions, both by domestic and foreign investors. So bauxite has for the first time taken the number one spot after nickel,” Rosan said in Jakarta, as quoted on Monday (20/7/2026).
According to him, the change in investment composition shows that the national downstreaming programme is beginning to develop more evenly and is no longer solely reliant on the nickel industry. Besides creating added value, the increase in investment also impacts employment absorption.
Overall, downstream investment realisation in Q2 2026 reached Rp 152.7 trillion, an increase of 5.7 per cent compared to the same period last year. This value contributed 29.8 per cent to the total national investment realisation of Rp 511.8 trillion.
By commodity, bauxite downstream investment was the largest at Rp 40.1 trillion, followed by nickel at Rp 29.4 trillion, copper at Rp 16.7 trillion, iron and steel at Rp 13.2 trillion, silica sand at Rp 4 trillion, and other commodities such as tin, gold, silver, cobalt, manganese, coal, Buton asphalt, and rare earth metals at Rp 4.7 trillion.
One of the projects supporting the investment increase is the construction of the Phase I Smelter Grade Alumina Refinery (SGAR) in Mempawah, West Kalimantan, developed by the MIND ID Group through PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (INALUM) together with PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTAM). The facility has a production capacity of 1 million tonnes of alumina per year, requiring approximately 3.3 million tonnes of bauxite per year.
Member of Commission XII of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Eddy Soeparno, welcomed the increase in bauxite downstream investment. According to him, the bauxite sector has lagged behind nickel because investment has flowed more into the nickel processing industry.
“We welcome the investment achievement in the bauxite downstream sector through the sharp increase in smelter investment. Looking at past developments, we have indeed been waiting for more investment in the bauxite smelter sector as it has tended to lag behind investment in the nickel sector,” Eddy said.
He expressed hope that smelter construction would not stop at the initial processing stage but would continue to the development of downstream industries so that the added value obtained by Indonesia would be even greater. Throughout January-June 2026, investment realisation was recorded to have absorbed 1,448,862 workers. In Q2 2026 alone, employment absorption reached 742,263 people, an increase of 5.1 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.