German carmaker, Volkswagen (VW), will build a production and processing plant for nickel ore in Indonesia, for the first time, Indonesian Investment Minister, Bahlil Lahadalia, told a press conference yesterday.

The investment will be realised this year, taking place in Batang regency in Central Java province and on Sulawesi island, according to the minister.

“However, we’re still negotiating the value of the investment, as VW still bargains for some incentives and counts the nickel ore reserve capacity,” Lahadalia said, adding that, he already met VW Chief Procurement Officer, Jorg Teichmann, at his office in Jakarta, on Tuesday.

Indonesia is known as rich in the reserve of nickel ore, a primary component of electric vehicle batteries.

Indonesia is estimated to have deposits of at least 72 million tonnes of nickel reserves, in areas of domestic mining operations, accounting for 52 percent of the world’s total reserves of around 139 million tonnes, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Data from Indonesia’s Central Statistic Agency, shows that, in the first quarter of 2022, the country’s export of nickel products saw a significant increase of 330.43 percent, compared to the same period of 2021.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK