Chiyoda, a Japanese engineering and construction company, has signed a deal worth approximately $2.7bn for the construction of an Indonesian copper smelting plant.
The EPC contract was granted by Freeport Indonesia, a Freeport-McMoRan subsidiary. Chiyoda is yet to divulge the contract’s exact value, but it will cover the company’s previously set target of $2.7bn in orders for the current fiscal year.
The plant, which will be located in Gresik, East Java, is slated to begin operations by 2025. It will include smelting and converting furnaces, an electric refinery, sulfuric acid, a wastewater treatment plant, and ancillary equipment. Copper cathodes, from concentrate supplied by Freeport Indonesia’s Grasberg mine, will be produced at the plant to supply the increasing demand for copper in industries with decarbonization goals, particularly automakers moving into electric vehicle production.
In an effort to reduce the percentage of total revenue in energy-related ventures to 50pc by 2030, Chiyoda is branching out into new areas, including copper smelting, supported by the construction of this plant.