The investment will take place over 10 to 15 years and the company is looking for a suitable location for the plant, Magdalena Veronika, a director at CNGR Indonesia told reporters.

She said the project has been granted national strategic project status from the government, which will provide certain benefits including land procurement. It will require 3,000 to 5,000 hectares (7,413 to 12,355 acres) of land, she added.

The project is the latest venture by a Chinese-backed firm in top nickel miner Indonesia, which banned nickel ore exports in 2020 to try to establish a fully integrated battery industry and electric vehicle ecosystem at home