Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto said downstreaming is key to Indonesia’s economic growth and energy self-sufficiency, as the government seeks to capture more value from natural resources.

“Downstreaming is the only path to prosperity. We must process resources domestically so added value benefits Indonesians,” he said in Cilacap, Central Java, on Wednesday.

He spoke at the launch of 13 Phase II national downstream projects worth Rp116 trillion (about US$6.7 billion).

He said developing domestic processing capacity is crucial to reducing reliance on foreign markets.

He added Indonesia must accelerate efforts to achieve energy and food self-sufficiency.

He said economic sovereignty depends on controlling production chains from upstream to downstream within the country.

Investment and Downstreaming Minister Rosan Roeslani said the projects span energy, mining and agriculture sectors.

In energy, projects include refinery development in Cilacap and Dumai.

He said the refineries could cut fuel imports by about US$1.25 billion annually.

Plans also include coal-to-dimethyl ether (DME) facilities in Tanjung Enim to replace LPG imports, which account for about 80 percent of national demand.

“This phase focuses on deeper value creation and sector integration, with projects expected to generate about 600,000 jobs,” he said.

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