Freeport to Build Two Smelters
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government has allowed PT Freeport Indonesia to build its smelters in two different locations. Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Minister Sudirman Said revealed on Friday, February 6, 2015, that the smelters will be built in Gresik and Papua.
According to Sudirman, the option to build smelters in two locations was a solution offered by Papua Governor Lukas Enembe. Sudirman added that the central and local governments, as well as Freeport Indonesia, will be in talks to discuss the smelter development in Papua.
“Next week, a decision will be made,” he said.
Governor Lukas Enembe hopes that Freeport’s smelter development in Papua would boost the local economy and improve his people’s life. He claimed that Papua has a vast land to be used as Freeport’s smelter location, including in Mimika. According to Lukas, the infrastructure to support the smelter development, including a power plant, is being completed.
“The access to the location has been opened,” he said.
Earlier, the government and the House of Representatives urged Freeport Indonesia to relocate its smelter from Gresik to Papua. The reason was that the policy would maximize the smelter’s added value for people in Papua.
In a special interview with Tempo last week, Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin said that a number of regional heads in Papua disagreed with Freeport’s decision to build the smelter in Gresik. Therefore, Freeport asked the government to form a team that would plan the smelter development in Papua.
URSULA FLORENE SONIA | ALI HIDAYAT | GUSTIDHA BUDIARTIE | ROBBY IRFANY
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