Indonesia expects $3.7 billion in investments for smelter projects to be delayed to 2021 if the coronavirus outbreak persists until the end of 2020, a mining official said.
The investments were expected for 35 ore processing facilities that are under construction or scheduled to start development this year, Irwandy Arif, an advisor to the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, told an online news briefing.
These projects include 18 nickel smelters, two copper projects and seven bauxite smelter projects, among others. These projects are now expected to be completed by around 2023 due to the delay this year, he said on Tuesday.
“Since January 2020 there are already suspensions of new smelter development,” Arif added.
The government’s earlier scenario for the coronavirus outbreak to end in June is looking unlikely, Arif said, as the number of daily cases had not yet shown a consistent downtrend.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, Indonesia, which had nearly 48,000 infections as of Tuesday, had targeted $20 billion in investments in smelting projects by 2023, Arif said.
Indonesia has stopped exporting nickel ore this year to promote the development of smelters at home.
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