Jakarta – The government, through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), continues to strengthen the development of the downstream ecosystem as a strategic foundation for increasing national competitiveness while creating large-scale job opportunities.
The Ministry of ESDM revealed the latest developments regarding at least 18 downstream projects that have been submitted to Danantara. The government is targeting accelerated completion of feasibility studies so that decisions on which projects will be prioritized can be made by the end of the year.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of ESDM, Ahmad Erani Yustika, stated that a follow-up meeting will be held with Danantara next week to evaluate the progress of the ongoing studies and coordinate with the Cabinet Secretariat.
“Our meeting with the Cabinet Secretariat discussed this again. There will also be a meeting with Danantara to review the latest developments regarding the FS that has been carried out there and what can be done to accelerate this downstream project,” said Erani.
Erani explained that the government wants to know in detail the progress Danantara has achieved after receiving the pre-feasibility study several months ago. The report will serve as the basis for prioritizing projects with the potential to begin immediately.
“We also want to hear from Danantara. We want to know what has been done over the past few months, since we submitted the pre-FS, and what progress has been made in the FS for each of the projects,” he said.
The total potential employment opportunities from all planned downstream projects reaches more than 276,000 new workers, illustrating the significant impact of downstreaming, which is a driving force for improving community welfare.
On the other hand, the regional government also views downstreaming as a strategic opportunity. The Deputy Governor of East Kalimantan, Seno Aji, emphasized that dependence on raw material exports must be stopped so that the region can maximize added value from its natural resource potential.
“Downstreaming can increase regional economic value because raw materials are processed into high-value products, thus contributing significantly to community and government revenues,” said Seno Aji.
The downstreaming strategy aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s Asta Cita (Asta Cita), which emphasizes strengthening domestic industry, promoting foreign exports, and increasing investment in strategic sectors that can strengthen national competitiveness, encourage sustainable industrialization, and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs for communities in various regions.
President Prabowo Subianto hopes that several feasibility study documents will be completed by December so the government can quickly make decisions on project implementation.
