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16 Sep 2024

Indonesia: Kalimantan Industrial Park project faces allegations of labour abuse, land grabs & environmental damage

The Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia (KIPI), designated as one of Indonesia's National Strategic Projects, is a vast industrial complex being developed on the eastern coast of North Kalimantan. Set to eventually cover 30,000 hectares, the project aims to transform Indonesia into a major producer of strategic resources, including aluminum for electric vehicles, petrochemicals, and materials for solar panels.

The project has attracted significant foreign and domestic investment, with involvement from companies such as Tsingshan Holding Group, Taikun Petrochemical (jointly owned by Tongkun Group and Xinfengming Group), China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Railway Engineering Consulting Group, Hyundai, CATL, Fortescue Future Industries, and Adaro Group. Despite being promoted as a "green" initiative, reports indicate that a significant portion of the project's power will come from coal-fired plants, raising questions about its environmental claims.

South China Morning Post (SCMP)'s report have alleged labor abuses, illegal land seizures, and environmental damage associated with the KIPI project. Local residents claim they were forced off their land or underpaid, while activists report intimidation preventing formal complaints. Environmental concerns include threats to endangered species in the project's coastal zone, which is reportedly a conservation and migration area for green turtles, hawksbill turtles, and killer whales.

In September 2024, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited companies named in the SCMP report: Tsingshan Holding Group, Tongkun Group, Xinfengming Group, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, and China Railway Engineering Consulting Group to respond to these allegations. They did not.

Company Responses

Tsingshan Group

No Response

China Railway Engineering

No Response

China State Construction Engineering (CSCEC)

No Response

Tongkun Holding Group

No Response

Xinfengming Group Co., Ltd.

No Response

Timeline

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