"The green industrial area in North Kalimantan will become the largest green industrial park in the world. I am optimistic that we would become a producer of green products that are competitive in international trade," Jokowi noted during his state address at the 2022 annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the Joint Session of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) at the Parliamentary Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
The president called to continue to pursue downstreaming and industrialization of natural resources in order to provide benefits to the national economy.
Nickel downstreaming, for instance, has led to an 18-fold increase in steel exports. In 2014, the government recorded steel exports to be valued at Rp16 trillion. The figure grew to Rp306 trillion in 2021 as a result of downstreaming.
The head of state expects nickel downstreaming to be valued at Rp440 trillion by the end of 2022.
"In addition to tax revenues, the country's foreign exchange has increased, so the rupiah exchange rate is also more stable," he added.
The president later noted that Indonesia had become a key producer in the global lithium battery supply chain. Electric car manufacturers from Asia, Europe, and the United States have started to invest in Indonesia.
Apart from nickel, the government will also encourage the downstreaming of bauxite, copper, and tin, including building an integrated domestic industrial ecosystem that will support development of the world's green economy ecosystem.
In addition to downstreaming, the government is committed to increasing the optimization of clean energy sources and a green economy. Nurseries and rehabilitation of tropical forests and mangrove forests as well as the rehabilitation of marine habitats will continue to be conducted and will become a large potential carbon sink.
"Clean energy from solar heat, geothermal, wind, ocean waves, and bioenergy will attract industrialization for producing low-emission products," he noted.
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Translator: Sugiharto Purnama, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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