Indonesia Still Faces Salt Shortage, Rote Ndao Project Key to Meeting Demand

ROTE NDAO — PT Nindya Karya (Persero) is developing a salt farm project in Rote Ndao Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. The National Salt Industry Centre (K-SIGN) project, under the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), is intended to support national salt supply needs.

This marks the first salt farm project undertaken by the state-owned enterprise. The government believes the national salt industry must be accelerated as domestic production still fails to fully meet domestic demand.

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka inspected the project site on Friday, 22 May 2026, alongside KKP’s Director General of Marine Management A. Koswara and PT Nindya Karya officials.

Gibran stated that national salt demand currently stands at around 5 million tonnes annually, making the Rote Ndao salt zone development crucial for securing domestic supply. “Our annual salt requirement is 5 million tonnes. We cannot meet this, so this project is vital for fulfilling domestic salt needs,” he said in a PT Nindya Karya press release.

The government aims to boost national salt production to reduce import dependency while meeting industrial and domestic consumption needs.

The Rote Ndao salt farms are projected to have a production capacity of up to hundreds of thousands of tonnes per year. An integrated management system is also being prepared to enhance the quality and efficiency of national salt production.

In addition to supporting industrial needs, the project is expected to generate local employment in both production and construction sectors.

PT Nindya Karya Managing Director Firmansyah stated the company would support infrastructure projects related to enhancing productivity and national industry development.