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“We are committed to employing local workers. But recruitment will be done in stages, as
needed,” VDNI spokesman Indrayanto told The Jakarta Post from Southeast Sulawesi on
Thursday.

He said the company would hire 2,500 local workers in the first phase. These workers would
become smelter operators, which were priority positions that VDNI needed filled. Indrayanto
did not detail the subsequent phases.

Indrayanto added that the company had brought in 261 of the 500 Chinese workers as of
Thursday. The third and final batch was supposed to arrive last week but the arrival was
delayed due to local protests.

Virtue Dragon, which is developing Indonesia’s largest nickel smelter, is playing a key role in
realizing the central government’s ambition of transforming mineral-rich Indonesia from a
commodity-driven economy to an industrial economy.

The smelter, last valued at US$1.4 billion, is slated to produce 600,000 tons of nickel pig iron
each year once fully completed in 2021.

Indrayanto argued that the employment of Chinese workers was essential to install the
smelter. While there had been a delay in the arrival of foreign workers, he was optimistic the
project would still run on time, at the end of the year.
“The development of the [smelter] is still ongoing but it will just be slower,” he said.

In April, Southeast Sulawesi Governor Ali Mazi and the Southeast Sulawesi Legislative Council
had refused entry to the foreign workers, supposedly because of concerns over COVID-19
transmission. Ali then turned around and green lighted the arrival amid the backlash.

Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah stated in June that allowing foreign employment would
eventually result in more jobs for local workers after they learned to use the technology used
in the projects.

With the sizeable investment for the project, the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs
and Investment Minister has also stated that it will oversee the local worker recruitment
process, according a spokesman.

“With this deal, we hope all employment-related policy making and problem solving in the
area can be handled faster and better,” Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and
Investment Minister spokesman Jodi Mahardi said in a statement on Wednesday.

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