Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, aims to complete the construction of an industrial zone in North Kalimantan (Kaltara) within four years. Following discussions with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), he expressed hopes for groundbreaking to begin within a month, with construction slated to finish in the next four years. During his recent working visit to China, Luhut visited cities like Beijing, Jilin, and Shanghai, meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, NDRC Chairman Zheng Shanjie, officials from Tsinghua University, and Chinese entrepreneurs. Luhut specifically requested NDRC’s support for the implementation of the Kaltara industrial zone. In his meeting with Zheng Shanjie, Luhut highlighted plans for the construction of what would become Asia's largest petrochemical plant in the zone, with a capacity of 4x16 million tons per year. The Kaltara industrial zone had previously been discussed during a bilateral meeting between President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Chinese President Xi Jinping on July 27, 2023, where they discussed joint ventures in the petrochemical sector and hydropower plants in Kaltara.
The green industrial zone, covering approximately 30 hectares in Bulungan Regency, Kaltara, is projected to attract investments worth USD 132 billion, or about IDR 2,174 trillion. The location is just 185 km from the new capital city, Nusantara (IKN). Plans for the industrial zone include the establishment of Indonesia's largest petrochemical plant, an alumina smelter with a capacity of three million tons, and an iron and steel plant with a capacity of five million tons per year. Additionally, there are plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant and a renewable energy-based power plant with a capacity of 265 GWh. The project also includes the construction of a polycrystalline silicon plant with a capacity of 1.4 million tons. This ambitious development is expected to boost economic growth and position Kaltara as a significant industrial hub in Southeast Asia.
