Head of BI's West Java Representative Office Erwin Hutapea said that the province's investment value in motorized vehicles reaches Rp27 trillion (US$1.8 billion), which in turn would possibly penetrate EV sector as well.
"In the context of energy transition development, we surely need investment," Hutapea stated in his office in Bandung City, West Java, on Sunday.
He said that EVs offer many other benefits in addition to supporting clean energy development.
In order to drive Indonesia to become a developed country, the government has taken energy resilience as one of its focuses, he added.
Hutapea expressed optimism that Indonesia is fully capable of developing a suitable ecosystem for EVs considering the country's abundant resources, including mineral resources and a large number of power plants.
"In the context of downstream efforts, we also possess critical minerals that can be used to support the industry of EVs," he noted.
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According to him, the development of a suitable ecosystem for EVs is in line with Bank Indonesia's mission to ensure that rupiah will remain a stable currency in the future.
Indonesia can optimize EVs to minimize the imports of oil fuel so that the budget can be reallocated to more productive sectors.
"The government's subsidies for oil fuel can be reallocated to infrastructure capacity-building in the hopes of elevating the people's living standard and boosting the economy," Hutapea said.
Meanwhile, Susiana Mutia, a representative of state-run electricity company PT PLN of West Java, informed that the province is currently home to a total of 127 public electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLUs) in 110 locations.
As the province's capital city, Bandung currently has 20 fully operational SPKLUs that can be checked on an application called PLN Mobile, she said.
"To drive an EV for 400 kilometers, it only costs about Rp200 thousand (US$13). Meanwhile, over Rp1 million (US$67) is needed for conventional vehicles for the same distance," she noted.
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Translator: Bagus Ahmad, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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