In developing countries like Indonesia, there is always a debate surrounding the development of a major industry, especially one that has the potential to be a game-changer in Indonesia's economy. This kind of development will inevitably spark both support and opposition in society. Indeed, Indonesia's nickel industry has been experiencing rapid growth in recent years. The positive effects of this growth can be observed in several regions, including eastern Indonesia. To provide a balanced perspective, let's turn to the words of an economic expert. Josua Padede, a prominent economist, states that the far-reaching impact of this phenomenon can be seen by closely examining what's happening in North Maluku. This region has experienced remarkably rapid economic growth, recently being recognized as the region with the highest economic growth in Indonesia.
North Maluku's economic growth is recorded as the highest among the 34 provinces in Indonesia, reaching 23.4% in 2022. The intensive downstreaming efforts undertaken by the government have proven to be a blessing for this region, known as the Spice City, primarily because of its abundant mineral resources. Together with Sulawesi and Papua, North Maluku possesses at least 99.76% of the nation's nickel reserves. In fact, in 2021, these three regions, collectively known as Sulampua, held a total nickel reserve of 4.6 billion tons. As much as 99.76% of Indonesia's nickel reserves are distributed in the Sulawesi Sulampua Region. As of 2021, the total nickel reserves in Sulampua reached 4.6 billion tons. In terms of production, Indonesia produced 1 million tons of nickel in 2021, the highest in the world. This remarkable achievement is expected to continue, especially with the global market demand for nickel products estimated to reach 3.2 million tons by 2024.
