JAKARTA - The House of Representatives (DPR) questioned the delay in the PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) smelter construction plan in Gresik, East Java. The facility was originally targeted to start on June 10, 2023, but was pushed back to the fourth quarter of 2024.

Quoted from the dpr.go.id page on Tuesday (7/2), I Gusti Ngurah Kesuma Kelakan, Member of Commission VII DPR said that in the early days PTFI often backtracked and did not complete the target market for smelter construction. "This needs to get the attention of Commission VII DPR," he said.

According to him, the law for smelter construction must be revised twice due to the delay in the target for building the facility. Revised in Law No.3/2020 which mandates the construction of a smelter in 2023.

According to him, in the Panja Meeting chaired by Bambang Wuryanto, Deputy Chairperson of Commission VII DRP with the Director General of Minerba, Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), it was revealed that the construction of the smelter was stated in the fourth quarter of 2024. (LK/LM)