President Prabowo Orders Action Over Alleged Extortion of Chemical Plant Project in Cilegon
JAKARTA — President Prabowo Subianto has given his attention to an alleged extortion incident involving rogue businesspeople in Cilegon, Banten, who targeted those responsible for the construction of a chlor alkali-ethylene dichloride (CA-EDC) chemical plant.
The President instructed the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) to summon the parties involved to find a resolution.
On Wednesday (14 May 2025), Deputy Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Deputy Head of BKPM Todotua Pasaribu convened a meeting with Banten Governor Andra Soni, Cilegon Mayor Robinsar, Banten Police Chief Inspector General Suyudi Ario Seto, Chandra Asri Group Director of Legal, External Relations and Circular Economy Edi Rivai, and Deputy General Coordinator for Law and Human Rights at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Azis Syamsuddin at his office to discuss the matter, which had gone viral on social media.
"This meeting was initiated by the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming because we received instructions from the President and the Minister (Rosan Roeslani), who is also abroad, to facilitate a response to the incident in the Cilegon area involving the investment by Chandra Asri Group and one of Kadin's organisations, in this case Kadin Cilegon," Todotua said after the meeting at the Ministry of Investment office in Jakarta.
The construction of the PT Chandra Asri Alkali plant has been designated by the government as a National Strategic Project (PSN) under Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2025 concerning the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2025-2029. The PSN designation was signed by Prabowo on 10 February 2025. The regulation states that the PSN executor is a private company, namely Chandra Asri Group.
Todotua said the government deplored the alleged extortion and asked Banten Police to investigate conditions on the ground further. He affirmed that legal proceedings would be pursued against the rogue businesspeople if they are proven to have committed criminal acts.
"This is to create a deterrent effect going forward, particularly with regard to the investment climate in our country," he stressed.
The alleged extortion in Cilegon went viral after video footage circulated on social media showing a number of businesspeople in the city demanding project allocations without going through a tender process. The local businesspeople were said to have demanded projects worth Rp 5 trillion from PT Chandra Asri Alkali (CAA), a subsidiary of Indonesia's largest chemical company, PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk.
The uploaded video showed a group of men identifying themselves as representatives of Kadin Cilegon in a confrontation with Chengda Engineering (CEE), a Chinese construction contractor appointed by CAA. The local businesspeople were seen pressing for a portion of the major project work in the area to be awarded directly to them without going through an official bidding process.
In the video, they were seen arriving en masse at the Krakatau Steel industrial estate in Cilegon wearing white uniforms and construction helmets. The project work they demanded was the construction of the chlor alkali-ethylene dichloride chemical plant.
The CA-EDC plant in Cilegon is listed among the national strategic projects (PSN) of President Prabowo Subianto's administration under Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2025 concerning the RPJMN 2025-2029.
The President instructed the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) to summon the parties involved to find a resolution.
On Wednesday (14 May 2025), Deputy Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Deputy Head of BKPM Todotua Pasaribu convened a meeting with Banten Governor Andra Soni, Cilegon Mayor Robinsar, Banten Police Chief Inspector General Suyudi Ario Seto, Chandra Asri Group Director of Legal, External Relations and Circular Economy Edi Rivai, and Deputy General Coordinator for Law and Human Rights at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Azis Syamsuddin at his office to discuss the matter, which had gone viral on social media.
"This meeting was initiated by the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming because we received instructions from the President and the Minister (Rosan Roeslani), who is also abroad, to facilitate a response to the incident in the Cilegon area involving the investment by Chandra Asri Group and one of Kadin's organisations, in this case Kadin Cilegon," Todotua said after the meeting at the Ministry of Investment office in Jakarta.
The construction of the PT Chandra Asri Alkali plant has been designated by the government as a National Strategic Project (PSN) under Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2025 concerning the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2025-2029. The PSN designation was signed by Prabowo on 10 February 2025. The regulation states that the PSN executor is a private company, namely Chandra Asri Group.
Todotua said the government deplored the alleged extortion and asked Banten Police to investigate conditions on the ground further. He affirmed that legal proceedings would be pursued against the rogue businesspeople if they are proven to have committed criminal acts.
"This is to create a deterrent effect going forward, particularly with regard to the investment climate in our country," he stressed.
The alleged extortion in Cilegon went viral after video footage circulated on social media showing a number of businesspeople in the city demanding project allocations without going through a tender process. The local businesspeople were said to have demanded projects worth Rp 5 trillion from PT Chandra Asri Alkali (CAA), a subsidiary of Indonesia's largest chemical company, PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk.
The uploaded video showed a group of men identifying themselves as representatives of Kadin Cilegon in a confrontation with Chengda Engineering (CEE), a Chinese construction contractor appointed by CAA. The local businesspeople were seen pressing for a portion of the major project work in the area to be awarded directly to them without going through an official bidding process.
In the video, they were seen arriving en masse at the Krakatau Steel industrial estate in Cilegon wearing white uniforms and construction helmets. The project work they demanded was the construction of the chlor alkali-ethylene dichloride chemical plant.
The CA-EDC plant in Cilegon is listed among the national strategic projects (PSN) of President Prabowo Subianto's administration under Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2025 concerning the RPJMN 2025-2029.