Prabowo Accelerates Bauxite Downstreaming, Value-Add Could Increase 40-Fold

President Prabowo Subianto has emphasised that the government continues to push for the downstreaming of natural resources, one of which is through the development of the industry to process bauxite into aluminium.

According to the President, downstreaming this commodity is capable of creating value-added increases of dozens of times compared to selling bauxite in its raw form. He cited the development of an integrated aluminium industry within the country, ranging from processing bauxite into alumina and alumina into aluminium, as a primary example.

“For example, if we build aluminium smelters in Indonesia, converting bauxite to alumina and alumina to aluminium, the increase is extraordinary—some are 30-fold, some are 66-fold. And we are working on all of this,” stated Prabowo during a dialogue with senior journalists and experts in Hambalang, Bogor Regency, West Java.

Prabowo projected that bauxite downstreaming could provide significant economic value for Indonesia. By 2030, for instance, the value generated from bauxite processing is estimated to reach between US$15 billion and US$16 billion.

Furthermore, the development of the bauxite downstreaming industry is expected to require substantial investment. Prabowo estimated that the necessary investment for this industry could reach US$26 billion, which is projected to create 229,000 new jobs.

“Our bauxite reserves are the sixth largest in the world. Converting bauxite to aluminium for building materials offers a 36.9 to 40-fold increase in value-add that currently does not exist in Indonesia! This is our strategy, this is our goal,” said Prabowo.