HOW IFC’S SUPPORT FOR CAPTIVE COAL IN NICKEL INDUSTRIAL PARK IS DESTROYING OBI ISLAND

The report details the environmental and social degradation of Obi Island caused by the nickel industrial park operated by Trimegah Bangun Persada (TBP) and its subsidiaries. It specifically criticizes the IFC for providing funding to financial intermediaries—OCBC NISP, DBS Bank Ltd, and KEB Hana—which in turn finance TBP's operations. The author highlights that these operations rely on captive coal-fired power plants, which the report claims contradicts the IFC's Paris Agreement alignment and its own Performance Standards. Documented impacts include heavy metal contamination of marine biota, drinking water pollution exceeding Indonesian safety standards, high rates of Acute Respiratory Infection in children, and the displacement of local communities.

• Nickel mining and smelting on Obi Island have caused severe environmental damage, including the contamination of all 12 types of marine biota tested for heavy metal waste and drinking water sources containing hexavalent chromium (Cr⁶⁺) at 60pbb, exceeding the Indonesian safety limit of 50pbb.
• The industrial park has negatively impacted public health and human rights, with 900 cases of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) reported in 2020—over half of which affected newborns or toddlers—alongside land disputes and forced evictions of Kawasi village residents.
• The Obi island nickel industrial park generated 3,489,944 tons of CO2e in 2022, a figure the report states is six times the 2021 emissions of Timor Leste.
• The IFC is linked to these operations through financial intermediaries (FIs) including OCBC NISP, DBS Bank Ltd, and KEB Hana, which have provided loans to TBP and its subsidiaries for mining and smelter construction.
• The report identifies a critical loophole in the IFC's Green Equity Approach (GEA), noting that it does not apply to captive coal power plants used for industrial applications like mining and smelters.
• TBP's operations rely heavily on coal; in 2022, 91% of its total energy usage came from coal, supported by various captive power plants including a 114 MW plant for the MSP smelter and planned capacities for HJF and ONC.

APA

Indri, N. (2023). HOW IFC’S SUPPORT FOR CAPTIVE COAL IN NICKEL INDUSTRIAL PARK IS DESTROYING OBI ISLAND. Trend Asia. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TrendAsia-9.pdf

Chicago

Indri, Novita. HOW IFC’S SUPPORT FOR CAPTIVE COAL IN NICKEL INDUSTRIAL PARK IS DESTROYING OBI ISLAND. Trend Asia, 2023. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TrendAsia-9.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Indri |first1=Novita |title=HOW IFC’S SUPPORT FOR CAPTIVE COAL IN NICKEL INDUSTRIAL PARK IS DESTROYING OBI ISLAND |publisher=Trend Asia |date=October 2023 |url=https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TrendAsia-9.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{indri2023how, author = {Indri, Novita}, title = {{HOW IFC’S SUPPORT FOR CAPTIVE COAL IN NICKEL INDUSTRIAL PARK IS DESTROYING OBI ISLAND}}, institution = {Trend Asia}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TrendAsia-9.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }