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REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Minister of Investment and Downstream Rising/Head of BKPM Rosan Perkasa Roeslani said that bauxite for the first time displaced nickel as a commodity with the realization of the largest downstream investment in Indonesia in the second quarter of 2026. The shift prompted increased construction of bauxite processing and refining facilities (smelters) by domestic as well as foreign investors.
The realization of bauxite downstream investments in the second quarter of 2026 reached Rp 40.1 trillion or jumped 193 percent compared to the first quarter of 2026 which amounted to Rp 13.7 trillion. This achievement places bauxite at the top of national downstream investment, surpassing nickel, which has been a major commodity.
“Well this if we look at it, usually it's nickel always at number one. Well this is shifting, bauxite being number one because there is indeed some bauxite smelter construction, both done by domestic and foreign investors. So that bauxite for the first time took the number one spot after nickel,” Rosan said in Jakarta, quoted Monday (20/7/2026).
According to him, the change in the composition of such investments indicates that the national downstream program is beginning to develop more evenly and no longer rests solely on the nickel industry. In addition to creating added value, increased investment also has an impact on labor absorption.
Overall, the realisation of downstream investments in the second quarter of 2026 reached Rp 152.7 trillion or an increase of 5.7 percent compared to the same period last year. This value accounts for 29.8 percent of the total realized national investment which reached Rp 511.8 trillion.
Based on commodities, bauxite downstream investment became the largest with a value of Rp 40.1 trillion, followed by nickel at Rp 29.4 trillion, copper Rp 16.7 trillion, iron and steel Rp 13.2 trillion, silica sand Rp 4 trillion, as well as other commodities such as tin, gold, silver, cobalt, manganese, coal, Buton bitumen, and rare earth metals of Rp 4.7 trillion.
One of the projects supporting the increased investment is the construction of Smelter Grade Alumina Refinery (SGAR) Phase I in Memphis, West Kalimantan, developed by MIND ID Group through PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (INALUM) together with PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTAM). The facility has a production capacity of 1 million tons of alumina per year with a requirement of about 3.3 million tons of bauxite per year.
Member of Commission XII DPR RI Eddy Soeparno positively welcomed the increase in downstream bauxite investments. According to him, during this time the bauxite sector has indeed lagged behind nickel because more investment flows into the nickel processing industry.
“We welcome the investment achievements in the downstream bauxite sector through a sharp increase in smelter investment. Judging by the developments in the past, we are indeed waiting for even more investment in the bauxite smelter sector as it tends to lag behind investments in the nickel sector,” Eddy said.
He hopes that the smelter construction does not stop at the initial processing stage, but continues until the development of downstream industries so that the added value gained by Indonesia will be greater. Throughout January-June 2026, the realized investments were recorded to absorb 1,448,862 workforce. As for the second quarter of 2026 alone, labor absorption reached 742,263 people or an increase of 5.1 percent compared to the same period last year.
