Editor's note: In 2013, Weiqiao Venture Group took the lead in responding to the "Belt and Road" initiative and successively invested and started businesses in Indonesia and Guinea. In the past 10 years, the cooperation project of Weiqiao Venture Group in the two countries has become a model project of economic cooperation between China and Indonesia and several countries, and the Guinea project is regarded as a textbook classic case of global mining development.
The 10th Anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative
Bearing in mind the entrustment, the "Belt and Road" pilot project is a model
Photo/Hongfa Ware's alumina production base in Kedahbang District, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia
"In the past 10 years, the successful practice of Hongfa Winning Alumina Company has made positive contributions to Indonesia's economic development and improvement of people's livelihood. The company's employees and thousands of families behind them have changed their lives and provided support for the development of the local community and brought hope......" On September 5, at the headquarters of Hongfa Winning Alumina Company in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, Zhang Bo, chairman of Weiqiao Venture Group, listened to the report of the person in charge of the company, and a warm smile kept hanging on the corner of his mouth. At this time, coinciding with the 43rd ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Cooperation Leaders' Meeting held in Jakarta, Zhang Bo was invited by the Indonesian business community to participate in business negotiations and other related activities as a representative of the business community because of the contribution of Hongfa Winning Alumina Company to Indonesia's economic and social development. In his busy schedule, he took time to go to his subsidiary, Hongfa Winning Alumina Company, to communicate with employee representatives.
Weiqiao Venture Group has a number of industries and enterprises, but in Zhang Bo's heart, Hongfa Winning Alumina Company is very important, because it is a pioneer project of China's "Belt and Road" initiative. On October 3, 2013, at the "China-Indonesia Business Luncheon", witnessed by President Xi Jinping and then President Susilo of Indonesia, Zhang Bo signed the project with partners on the spot. At the APEC Leaders' Summit on November 10, 2014, the project was one of the three major projects for economic cooperation and exchanges between the leaders of China and Indonesia.
On the marshland of an abandoned palm plantation, Indonesia's first alumina plant was built
"China-Indonesia economic and trade cooperation has the right time, place, and people, and has broad development prospects. It is hoped that entrepreneurs from the two countries will seize the opportunity and work together to promote the development of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries to a higher level and in a wider range of fields. President Xi Jinping's words at the "China-Indonesia Business Luncheon" kept Zhang Bo in mind. He quickly assembled an elite team and joined forces with a number of domestic participating units to enter Kendawangan Town, Kedahbang County, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia, to start an overseas business in the swampy land of an abandoned palm plantation.
Photo/Start a business in the swamp
In the past, Indonesia has always been an important bauxite raw material base of Weiqiao Venture Group. In 2009, Indonesia passed a new Mining Resources Law, which came into force on January 12, 2014, officially banning the export of unprocessed bauxite. Before finding a more ideal source, Zhang Bo believed that the ideal model at that time was to build an alumina smelter in Indonesia with a partner to supply alumina to China. The close cooperation between China and Indonesia in the field of the Belt and Road Initiative has created a golden opportunity for Zhang Bo to explore this "ideal model".
Tian Deyong, who is currently the on-site general manager of Hongfa Weili Alumina Company, still remembers the entrepreneurial experience 10 years ago: "At the beginning, there were no vehicles in the swamp, so we built temporary roads by driving wooden piles and backfilling soil, and then corrected the roads!" The rainy season lasts for 6 months and receives about 3 meters of rain per year. "For Chinese, this is a very rare amount of rainfall, which affects both construction and life. Moreover, the local industrial base is weak, and all the equipment to build the alumina plant must rely on domestic procurement.
Tian Deyong and the Weiqiao team, together with all participating units, have built the first phase of the alumina project with an annual output of 1 million tons in Indonesia, as well as supporting facilities such as thermal power plants, docks and employee living quarters.
On May 9, 2016, the first batch of alumina products of the first phase of the Hongfa Winning Alumina Company rolled off the production line, and the second phase of the project was put into production in December 2021. In 2022, Hongfa Winning Alumina Company produced a total of 2 million tons of first-class alumina, with a sales value of 756 million US dollars. Up to now, Hongfa Winning Alumina Company has completed an investment of 1.3 billion US dollars.
Hongfa Winning Alumina Co., Ltd. is the first overseas alumina smelter in China and the first enterprise engaged in industrial alumina production in Indonesia, filling the gap in Indonesia's aluminum industry chain. With a total production capacity of 2 million tons, the project is currently the largest alumina smelting project in Southeast Asia.
Photo/Hongfa Winning Alumina Company is the first overseas alumina smelter in China and the first enterprise engaged in industrial alumina production in Indonesia
In September 2023, when the reporter interviewed at the production base of Hongfa Winning Alumina Company in Kenda Wangan Town, he saw that the swamp was gone, and in front of him was the tropical style of coconut palms, the modern factory building standing tall and the comfortable living area for employees. At the nearby wharf, barges come slowly from the sea, and the bauxite and coal brought in are transported to the workshop in an orderly manner through belt transportation, and the alumina produced at the base is transported to the ship through the belt, across the sea, and transported to various international customers.
"When a person or a team goes through a lot of hard work to do something, all he remembers are some beautiful things, and they are full of pride!" Zhang Bo, who has experienced the sweetness and hardship of entrepreneurship, shared his heartfelt feelings with employees. As an "old Indonesia", Tian Deyong feels the same way, and every moment he leads the reporter to interview, his eyes are filled with the pride of the pioneer of the "Belt and Road".
"Strong man broken wrist" to meet customer needs, the products sell well in the international market
Photo/Hongfa Winning Alumina Company's products are in short supply
Chen Hongli, sales section chief of Hongfa Waree Alumina Company, introduced: "Most of the company's products are now sold in the international market, some are supplied to domestic customers, orders are in short supply, and this year's sales tasks have been completed in September!"
Since 2016, the sufficient supply of bauxite in Guinea has met the raw material demand of Weiqiao Venture Group for domestic alumina production, and Indonesian companies must open up other international market channels for alumina. From the original plan to transport all alumina products back to China to supply Weiqiao electrolytic aluminum production, to most of the products sold to the international market, Chen Hongli, an "old salesman" with rich experience in the domestic market, and his team ushered in many tests.
Chen Hongli contacted several foreign customers through a trader friend, and the other party praised the quality of Hongfa Winning alumina, but also raised a problem that has never been encountered in the domestic market: "We don't need bagged alumina, our tradition has always been to trade in bulk. In addition, the particle size of your alumina does not meet our requirements!"
Hongfa Winning alumina production base first introduced a bag breaker, and changed the bag to bulk packaging for a large number of bagged products. This move is quite like a "strong man breaking his wrist", in the face of the good end of the packaging products are torn, in the face of the torn packaging is a mess, they are heartbroken. At the same time, because of the adaptation to the needs of customers, the company also saved a large amount of bag costs in the future.
In order to control the particle size of alumina within 12% of the 45μm index, the company introduced a cyclone device from China in 2016 to insert it into the alumina production process. Xiao Dawei, director of Hongfa Winning Alumina Plant, introduced: This device is very similar to aliens in film and television, with "big head", "big belly" and "three claws". When it was installed, it attracted many nearby villagers to take pictures to see the strangeness. After the installation of "Alien", Xiao Dawei led the person in charge of all aspects of production to debug over and over again, and finally perfectly met the granularity requirements of the international market.
Chen Hongli is very proud to introduce that Indonesia's bauxite grade is extremely high, coupled with Weiqiao's first-class alumina production technology, after active commissioning, the product quickly opened the international market. At present, the company has established a stable trade partnership with international commodity giants such as Glencore and Trafigura, and its products are mainly sold in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other places, and some of them are supplied to the Chinese market, which are well received by users, and the company's influence continues to expand.
Awarded the ASEAN Low Carbon Emission Reduction Award, Weiqiao's green and low-carbon concept has taken root in Indonesia
Photo/Hongfa Winning Alumina Company was awarded the ASEAN Low Carbon Emission Reduction Award
In August 2023, Tian Deyong, on behalf of the company, received the trophy of "First Prize for Clean and Environmentally Friendly Coal Utilization Technology" for medium-sized enterprises issued by ASEAN. This award recognizes the application of new technologies and outstanding contributions to energy conservation and emission reduction in the roasting process, coal combustion efficiency and 100% reuse of coal ash. This is the second time that the company has won the ASEAN award for low-carbon emission reduction.
In China, the concept of energy conservation and emission reduction, green and low-carbon development of Weiqiao Venture Group has become a common practice and has become the consciousness of every employee. This culture has also been brought to Indonesian companies.
At the beginning of the construction of the gas branch of Hongfa Winning Alumina Company, in order to avoid the problem of phenol water and tar treatment in the later stage of the traditional process, the gasifier process was first introduced in the process of converting coal into gas. However, it was later found that the calorific value of fly ash per ton produced by this process still exceeded the calorific value of the coal used in the power plant, and the gas station produced as much as 200 tons of fly ash per day. Yang Chuanming, director of the gas branch, took the initiative to communicate with the R&D and production units of the gasifier, and jointly discussed solutions with domestic manufacturers, Indonesian alumina plants and other units, and finally built two fly ash silos in the power plant, and the fly ash generated by the gas station finally entered the power plant boiler for secondary combustion to achieve full utilization of the calorific value. Hao Xiangchao, director of the power plant, said: "As a result, the power plant can save 200 tons of coal a day, saving 100,000 yuan a day, and the economic benefits are very considerable in a year." ”
In terms of red mud management, Hongfa Winning Alumina Company manages the red mud tailings pond in strict accordance with the standards to ensure safe storage and no environmental pollution. The company has also carried out vegetation restoration in the completed reservoir area, which has been at the forefront of the world.
"Extensive consultation, joint contribution and sharing" will continue to promote the economic and social development of Kedah State
Photo/Indonesian dispatcher Li Li'an (Chinese) happily shared his Chinese experience with reporters
Li Li'an (Chinese), a 37-year-old Indonesian dispatcher at the alumina plant, happily shared his experience with reporters: In 2015, he was selected to learn alumina technology at Weiqiao Venture Group, and in just a few months, he studied very hard and quickly mastered all the production processes. After returning to China, he was promoted from team leader to squad leader and then to dispatcher, and his salary increased year by year. He was very grateful: "My income allows me to buy what I want, to be filial to my parents, and to meet all the needs of my family." I am very grateful for my experience in China, and I am very grateful to Weiqiao for giving me this income and the sense of accomplishment I have gained from it. "Li Li'an's happiness represents the happiness of all the more than 3,400 Indonesian employees who work in Hongfa Winning Alumina.
Photo/Mikif, an elder of the Kenda Wangan Daya tribe near the alumina base, is very grateful to Weiqiao Entrepreneurship Group for the positive changes it has brought to the local area
Huang Pingyi, deputy general manager of Weiqiao Venture Group, who accompanied the reporter to the interview, participated in the commissioning ceremony of the first phase of the project in 2016; after entering Kedah Bang County, he frequently sighed: There are too many changes, there are more buildings, more large shops, more young people riding new motorcycles, more new houses are built on both sides of the road, the houses are more spacious and beautiful, and the roads have also been well improved. Mikif, an elder of the Kenda Wangan Daya tribe near the alumina base, told reporters: "In the past, few people in the village went to school, but after Hongfa Weili alumina came, the families in the village had the money to let their children go to school!"
"Consultation, co-construction and sharing", Hongfa Winning Alumina Company has been practicing this basic principle of "The Belt and Road". Since its establishment in 2013, the company has paid more than US$250 million in taxes to the Indonesian government, and has won the Best Tax Paying Enterprise Award from the Indonesian government for many consecutive years. The company arranges a team and annual budget to continue to help the surrounding communities and the economic, livelihood and social development projects of the company's surrounding communities and the province of Western California, such as coastline restoration, fire fighting, earthquake relief, bridge and road construction, investment in school construction, donation to education, free medical care, serious illness relief and other projects, and donate funds to sponsor local football development and various sports competitions, festivals and religious festivals.
图/吉打邦县县长Martin Rantan接受记者采访
In an interview with reporters, Kedah District Governor Martin Rantan said that Hongfa Winning Alumina Company has brought significant improvements to the economic development of Kedah State. It has also played a significant role in increasing employment opportunities in Kedahbang by providing new employment opportunities to the local people, not only reducing the unemployment rate but also increasing the income of the people. He presented such a set of data to reporters: before the investment of Hongfa Winning Alumina Company, the economic growth of Kedah Bang was 5%-5.5% per year, and after the project was put into operation, the economic growth of Kedah Bang County jumped significantly, reaching 7.97% in 2016, 7.21% in 2018 and 7.99% in 2019, and in 2022, under the influence of the severe new crown pneumonia epidemic, the economic growth rate of Kedah Bang still reached 5.45%. Martin Rantan very sincerely hopes that Hongfa Winning Alumina Company will maintain its long-term investment and stable development in the county for the long-term benefit of the local community.
The reporter learned that 90% of the 3,700 employees of Hongfa Winning Alumina Company are from Indonesia. Thanks to the pull of alumina companies, Kedah Bang ranks second in terms of economic development in West Kalimantan Province, after Pontianak, the provincial capital.
In an interview with reporters, the relevant person in charge of the Indonesian Ministry of Industry said that Hongfa Winning Alumina Company plays a key role in Indonesia's aluminum industry, and the company has successfully increased Indonesia's alumina supply capacity by 2 million tons, and has the potential to become one of the pillars to enhance the competitiveness of Indonesia's aluminum industry and strengthen the overall strength of the metal industry.