Safety measures: An aerial view of the nickel smelting plants at Iwip in North Maluku. Iwip has stated its commitment to operating in line with regulations. — AFP
JAKARTA: PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (Iwip) has rejected allegations of nickel smuggling through the Weda Bay private airport in Central Halmahera, North Maluku.
The company’s management wrote in a statement on Monday that “the information circulating in public is inaccurate”, asserting that the materials shipped through the airport were neither nickel nor any illegal goods and were not connected to any illegal activities.
The materials were alumina samples owned by one of the industrial park tenants, who had obtained the necessary administrative permits to ship them to Jakarta for laboratory testing, the company said, adding, however, that the process had been delayed due to missing supporting documents.
“In accordance with security and operational procedures at the Weda Bay airport, any materials that need special handling and are not supported with valid documents must be temporarily detained for a verification process,” the statement said.
The materials were detained by Aviation Security (AvSec) after being detected by X-ray inspection before the boarding process.
The company noted that there were no “seizures, legal inspections or investigations” conducted by any external authorities.
According to Iwip’s management, the samples are currently under AvSec’s supervision and will be further processed once the documents are verified.
Iwip stated its commitment to operating in line with aviation regulations and local security standards as well as with guidelines from relevant authorities.
A government task force deployed to the airport was previously reported to have foiled an attempt to smuggle mineral materials last Friday.
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) spokesperson Agung Anang Supriatna said a Chinese national with the initials MY had been arrested after being caught carrying five packages of nickel powder and four packages containing pure nickel powder on a Super Air Jet flight from Weda Bay to Manado, North Sulawesi.
“The perpetrator is being dealt with by the relevant authorities, and the evidence of smuggled minerals will be further investigated by the relevant agencies,” said Anang, as quoted in a press release last Saturday.
The Halilintar forest area enforcement (PKH) task force, which is tasked with monitoring mining smuggling, had also detected the suspect’s activity, Anang said.
Weda Bay private airport was established in 2019 with approval from the Transportation Ministry.
Meanwhile, the nickel mining and processing facility at Iwip began operations in 2018 and has been promoted as a project to push the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy in Indonesia. Iwip is managed under a Chinese joint venture between the Tsingshan Group, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co Ltd and Zhenshi Holding Group Co Ltd, with an initial budget of US$7.5bil for the nickel project.
Standing on a 4,027-ha site, the industrial park comprises mines and smelters for nickel, a mineral that plays a key role in the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
It has its own seaport and airport. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for 2023, Indonesia accounts for 51% of the world’s nickel mine production.
The government of President Prabowo Subiato, like that of his predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widido, has the ambition to turn Indonesia into a global EV manufacturing hub through its policy to build downstream mineral industries in the country.
That development strategy has led to some criticism over environmental concerns, as the energy-hungry nickel smelters have led to the construction of coal-fired power plants to provide energy for the facilities. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
