Jakarta. The government’s multi-billion dollar ambition to move the production value chain across dozens of commodities will turn Indonesia into a powerful country, according to Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia.

Indonesia aims to process its abundant resources at home and turn them into higher-valued exports. For instance, the resource-rich country intends to turn its unprocessed nickel ores into stainless steel or even batteries to make more money in international trade.

The government has already drafted a grand design that was directed at creating added value for 28 selected commodities, ranging from bauxite, gold, to even seaweed. However, Indonesia needs hundreds of billions of American dollars to run the program.

In his opening speech at the Energy and Mineral Festival 2025, Bahlil said that Indonesia would need to attract up to $618 billion worth of investments by 2040 to build industries across all 28 commodities. 

“We will continue to push for this [downstream program]. If we are consistent and also do a good job at it, well, I’m pretty sure Indonesia will be one of the well-respected countries,” Bahlil told the conference in Jakarta on Wednesday evening. 

The mineral and coal sectors make up the lion's share of the much-needed investments, reaching $498.4 billion, followed by the coal and gas sectors ($68.3 billion). The remaining $51.3 billion would go to forestry, marine, fishery, and forestry sectors encompassing commodities such as palm oil, rubber, and salt.

Bahlil’s presentation slides showed the economic boons that Indonesia could enjoy if it could execute the downstream industry plan well. The program is expected to boost Indonesia’s exports by $857.9 billion and create jobs for approximately 3 million individuals. It will also contribute around $235.9 billion to Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP).

Jakarta’s first successful downstream commodity was nickel, a vital ingredient of stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries. Indonesia has banned exports of unprocessed nickel since 2020, but remains open to foreign investors who wish to build smelters and other related facilities. A similar ban on exported copper already came into effect early this year. 

“Indonesia is already among the world’s biggest exporters of nickel products. And we are also pushing for the development of gold thanks to Freeport and Amman,” Bahlil said.

The mining giant Freeport Indonesia runs a precious metal refinery in Gresik, which will have an annual production capacity of 50 tons of gold bars. Miner Amman Mineral also has a smelter in West Sumbawa. The Rp 21 trillion (around $1.3 billion) refining facility is expected to produce 18 tons per annum of refined gold.

Official statistics showed that Indonesia’s downstream sectors had already recorded around Rp 280.8 trillion ($17 billion) in investments between January and June 2025. About Rp 193.8 trillion went to minerals, mainly nickel (Rp 94.1 trillion) and copper (Rp 40 trillion).

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