Inicio - Noticias - The state-owned aluminium company of Indonesia, Inalum, has called on the government to suspend the approval of new projects for aluminium oxide and aluminium smelting plants.
The state-owned aluminium company of Indonesia, Inalum, has called on the government to suspend the approval of new projects for aluminium oxide and aluminium smelting plants.
April 13, 2026
The CEO of Indonesia's state-owned aluminum company (PT Inalum), Melati Sanita, told members of parliament that the company is concerned that after the rapid expansion of the aluminum industry, it will encounter similar problems as the nickel industry, such as the impact of overcapacity on global aluminum prices and the triggering of a series of environmental issues.
Therefore, PT Inalum has called on the Indonesian government to suspend the approval of new alumina and aluminum smelting plant projects. This statement was made against the backdrop of market concerns over excessive aluminum production capacity and pressure on domestic bauxite reserves.
Indonesia, which is rich in mineral resources, has been actively promoting the development of its domestic metal industry and has attracted enterprises to invest and set up factories in the country by prohibiting the export of raw minerals.
The intensive investment in nickel smelting projects has made Indonesia the world's largest exporter of nickel products. Meanwhile, analysts point out that currently investors are turning their attention to the aluminum industry.
Saritha cited market data to calculate that once all the planned alumina projects come into operation, Indonesia's alumina production capacity will increase from the current approximately 900 million tons to 2.98 million tons; the primary aluminum production capacity will also rise from 11.3 million tons to 14.9 million tons. She stated that this will cause the annual demand for bauxite to soar from the current 36 million tons required by existing refineries to a maximum of 94 million tons.
Such a large-scale expansion of production capacity will put pressure on Indonesia's bauxite reserves. The high demand could shorten the exploitable period of the already discovered bauxite reserves to just 10 years, according to Sanita.
"As a state-owned aluminum enterprise, we are building a smelting plant, hoping that the supply of bauxite can support its operation for 30 years."
"The current outlook for global aluminum demand is uncertain. If Indonesia were to aggressively increase production, it could further depress international aluminum prices," she concluded.
