South Sulawesi Optimistic of Reaching IDR 21 Trillion Investment Target by 2026

The Provincial Government of South Sulawesi is optimistic that investment realisation will continue to grow in the coming years, driven by the progress of several strategic projects in the mining and processing industry sectors. Head of the South Sulawesi Investment and One-Stop Integrated Services Office (DPMPTSP), Asrul Sani, said his office has been given a target of IDR 21 trillion in investment realisation from the Ministry of Investment/BKPM, which is also included in the South Sulawesi Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMD) document. “We have been given a target of IDR 21 trillion from the BKPM Ministry. That figure is also in the RPJMD of South Sulawesi,” he stated on Thursday (11/6/2026). According to him, this optimism is based on a number of large investments that are currently entering the operational or construction phases. One of these is the Indonesia Huali Industrial Park (IHIP) nickel processing industrial area in East Luwu Regency. “We are actually optimistic because there are processes currently underway. The first is the nickel processing industry in East Luwu, particularly IHIP. It has started activities. That will certainly influence investment realisation later,” he said. Additionally, the PT Masmindo Dwi Area gold mine project in Luwu Regency is also entering the construction phase, which is expected to contribute to the region’s investment achievements. “Likewise with Masmindo, which has started construction and development activities. That will certainly affect investment realisation,” he explained. He emphasised that investment is a long-term oriented sector, so its impact is only visible over a period of several years. “When we talk about investment, it is long-term. Two to three years, even five years. What is currently in process are large-scale investments,” he said. Although the nickel sector remains the largest contributor to South Sulawesi’s exports, the regional government hopes that future investment will be directed more towards the downstream processing of agricultural and fishery commodities, which are the region’s strengths. “If we look at South Sulawesi’s exports, around 70 per cent is still dominated by nickel, whether in matte or ferronickel form,” he noted. He stated that South Sulawesi has great potential to develop the seaweed processing industry. South Sulawesi is currently recorded as the largest seaweed producer in Indonesia, with production reaching approximately 4 million tonnes per year. “We hope investment will head towards downstream processing of agricultural and fishery commodities. Seaweed, for example, we are the largest producer in Indonesia, around four million tonnes in one year,” he said. However, until now, most seaweed is still exported in the form of dried raw material, so the added value is enjoyed by other regions. “Although there are already industries in Takalar and Pinrang, if we look at export performance, there is still a lack of product processed into carrageenan or agar-agar. Much is still exported as dried seaweed or raw material,” he stated. As a result, the added value of the industry is mostly enjoyed by other regions such as Surabaya and Jakarta, which serve as processing centres. “South Sulawesi does not get maximum added value. A lot is taken to Surabaya and Jakarta, and those provinces get the added value,” he added. Besides seaweed, South Sulawesi also has significant potential in the fisheries sector with a production potential reaching 1.1 million tonnes per year, particularly in the Makassar Strait area. “We have great fisheries potential. The potential is around 1.1 million tonnes in South Sulawesi,” he said. However, exported fishery products are currently still dominated by frozen products, and not many have been processed into high-value-added products such as canned food or other processed products. “If we look at exports, most are still in frozen form. Not many have been processed into finished goods. So that is indeed our homework,” he said. He assessed that the downstreaming policy direction pushed by the central government must be utilised by South Sulawesi to develop the processing industry for various regional superior commodities, including tuna, mackerel tuna, skipjack, seaweed, small crab, and shrimp. “If we look at the President’s policy regarding the downstreaming of 28 priority commodities, there are several that are indeed South Sulawesi’s strengths. Besides tuna, mackerel tuna, skipjack and seaweed, we also have small crab and shrimp, whose production is among the largest in Indonesia,” he concluded.