Indonesia is taking a step towards a greener economy with the beginning of work on a hydroelectric plant. The facility will help power an industrial park that will produce electric vehicles and EV batteries.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo attended the groundbreaking ceremony in North Kalimantan on Wednesday.
The Mentarang Induk hydropower project is run by an Indonesian and Malaysian consortium. It will cost about 2.6 billion dollars, and is expected to be completed in 7 years.
The plant will supply energy for Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia, which is 13-thousand hectares wide. Joko said the site will produce more eco-friendly and competitive goods, and do so with cleaner energy.
Joko added, "We really hope that there will be a transformation of the Indonesian economy towards a green economy that will be very strong."
Indonesia plans to develop domestically-built EV batteries for the global supply chain. The country has the world's largest deposit of nickel, the main material for the batteries.
Attention is on whether the hydropower plant and industrial park will make the country's industry more environmentally-friendly. Indonesia's energy ministry says about two thirds of the nation's power plants used coal in 2022.