KUALA TANJUNG, Indonesia -- Employees at Indonesia Asahan Aluminium, the country's only aluminum producer, looked cheerful as for the first time in many years they welcomed dozens of journalists from major publications in Jakarta. The physically remote and reticent company has recently come under the spotlight following its appointment as the holding company for three state-owned miners.
The company's 200-hectare main site is in Kuala Tanjung, a village in North Sumatra province directly facing the Malacca Strait. It hosts a smelter that produces an annual 260,000 tons of aluminum -- found in cars, planes and food packaging -- and ships it from its own port. The site sits next to a future international hub port and industrial zone being developed by state-owned port operator Pelindo, as part of Indonesia's attempt to transform Sumatra into an economic powerhouse.
