Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – As many as Indonesia’s 15 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in operation have employed an investment value of 64.4 trillion rupiahs (some 4.5 billion U.S. dollars) and employed 23,000 workers, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said.

So far, Indonesia has 19 SEZs, with 15 of them operating with an investment value of 64.4 trillion rupiahs, Airlangga noted in his report to President Joko Widodo during the groundbreaking for Freeport Indonesia’s smelter in the Gresik SEZ, East Java, on Tuesday (Oct. 12).

According to him, as many as 150 companies have invested in the 15 SEZs with an export contribution of 3.8 trillion rupiahs (about 267.5 million dollars).

The Gresik SEZ, which is the location of Freeport Indonesia's smelter, was established on 28 June 2021.

The SEZ covering an area of ​​2,167 hectares is targeted to absorb an investment of 71 trillion rupiahs (some 4.9 billion dollars) in the first five years.

The main activities of the Gresik SEZ include such industries as metal (smelter), electronics, chemical, as well as energy and logistics.

Freeport Indonesia is the anchor tenant of the Gresik SEZ with a smelter construction investment of 42 trillion rupiahs (some 2.9 billion dollars).

The metal refining and processing facility will be able to process 1.7 million tons of copper concentrate per year, making it the largest single line smelter in the world.

"This will of course make a positive contribution to the value of Indonesia's exports and import substitution," Airlangga said.

Reporting by Indonesia Window