MOROWALI, Central Sulawesi: From dusk till dawn, the small main road in Fatufia is crammed with factory workers on motorbikes and big trucks.
It is a drastic change from 10 years ago when the village in Central Sulawesi’s Morowali regency was just a sleepy area with intermittent electricity during the day.
Today, Fatufia is home to Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), which claims to be the longest industrial chain in the world. It produces nickel and stainless and carbon steel which are crucial components in many products, including batteries for electric vehicles.
Spanning 2,000ha, IMIP is an industrial complex with around 90,000 workers and 56 tenants, many of them Chinese companies.
Fatufia’s shifting landscape is a sign of Indonesia’s wider economic ambitions. As the world’s biggest nickel producer, the country is keen to attract investments from China.
But it also has its eye on another economic power: The US, where Tesla, the world’s largest pure electric vehicle manufacturer, is based.
Local business owners are already looking towards the potential opportunities.
“It is good that we have China in Indonesia. We cannot deny that they help our economy,” said Mr Rizky Anton, 37, an employee at a mobile phone shop around the IMIP complex.
“But if the US is also heremega swerte, there could be even more jobs.”
Mr Rizky Anton is a mobile phone shop employee in Morowali, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Photo: CNA/Danang Wisanggeni)