China's Shandong Nanshan plans to expand the Indonesian alumina refinery site to a $6 billion aluminium smelting complex

According to our source, China's Shandong Nanshan wants to expand its new Indonesian alumina refinery site to a USD$6 billion aluminium smelting complex by 2028, making it one of the most significant foreign investments in the country.

Shandong Nanshan is incorporated among many private Chinese organizations making multibillion-dollar investments in Southeast Asia in fields such as metal processing and oil refining, despite a slowing Chinese economy and more regulatory scrutiny at home.

In the Galang Batang special economic zone (SEZ), located on the island of Bintan, the company began operating its 2 million tonnes of alumina refinery annually in November 2022. Currently operating at full capacity, Nanshan sources bauxite for its alumina refinery from Indonesia's Kalimantan province and exports alumina to Malaysia and to other foreign buyers.

According to our source, who is familiar with this update, stated, Nanshan plans to start construction on a 250,000-tonnes-per-year aluminium smelting unit later this year as part of a plan to build a one million-tonnes-per-year aluminium plant by 2028. This unit will eventually produce high-end aluminium ingots for the aircraft and electric vehicle industries.