Tsingshan Steel to build a US$ 4 billion nickel project.

Tsingshan Steel, a subsidiary of Dingxin Investment Group, in cooperation with Bintang Delapan Group, will build an integrated nickel project to cost US$ 4 billion in Central and Southeast Sulawesi. Industry Minister MS Hidayat said Tsingshan wants to build a nickel smelter in the upstream and downstream sector to produce stainless steel as the end product of which the country still depends on import. The plan constitutes a move by Tsingshan in responding to the government's decision banning the exports of raw minerals to be effective in 2014. Hidayat said the government will offer tax holiday or tax allowance if the project is implemented as scheduled. Base industry director General Panggah Susanto said a Middle East company also plans to build a bauxite processing plant in Kalimantan with an investment of US$ 2 billion. The factory will have an annual processing capacity of 700,000 tons of bauxite to turn out alumina. The company has completed a feasibility study and is waiting only for the license from the government.