New Indonesian industrial park on Borneo, feted as ‘green,’ will be powered by coal, report says

  • September 15, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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New Indonesian industrial park on Borneo, feted as ‘green,’ will be powered by coal, report says

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

  • A vast industrial park being built on the tropical island of Borneo that has attracted billions of dollars in foreign and domestic investment is damaging the environment in an area where endangered animals live and migrate.

About the kalimantan industrial park:

  • It is a “national strategic project” meant to make Indonesia a major producer of strategic resources.
  • Plans call for eventually doubling its size to some 30,000 hectares (74,130 acres), making it one of the world’s biggest industrial zones.
  • It will be initially powered by coal.
  • The project’s blueprint includes a smelter to make aluminum for electric vehicles and other factories to produce petrochemicals, batteries for EVs and polycrystalline materials used in solar panels.
  • A port will accommodate ships hauling materials and goods to and from the zone.
  • The environmental impact assessment was commissioned by PT Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia.
  • The project’s coastal zone is a conservation and migration area for green turtles,hawksbill turtles and killer whales.
    • Hawksbill turtles are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while green turtles are considered endangered.
  • A hydropower plant along the Kayan River in North Kalimantan is due to be finished in 2030.
  • Indonesia has received the $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership deal with the U.S., Japan and other major economies.

Impact:

  • Dust and pollution
  • Impact on paddy field
  • Increased ship traffic
  • Reduced in fishing and fish production
  • Loss of traditional livelihood
  • Danger of how water waste contamination
  • Coal-fired power plant fly ash
  • Rising air temperature

Why is Indonesia establishing an industrial park?

  • Indonesia is the world’s largest nickel producer and has major reserves of aluminum, tin and copper.
  • All are used in technologies vital to the green energy transition, such as electric vehicle batteries and solar panels.
  • To build its own industrial base, the country has phased out exports of most raw materials for processing and downstream manufacturing.
  • The government has banned nickel ore exports, requiring it be processed domestically.
  • The Green Industrial Park is an extension of that ambition.
Environment New Indonesian industrial park on Borneo