President-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met with board of directors of Japanese car maker Mitsubishi Corporation in Jakarta on Monday to further discuss the firm’s plan to pour investment into the country.

“The automotive company wants Pak Jokowi to follow up with its plan to expand into the mining sector in Indonesia,” Jakarta administration international relations head Heru Budi Hartono said as quoted bykontan.co.id, adding that Mitsubishi CEO Tetsuro Aikawa also attended the meeting.

The firm plans to set up a nickel smelter in Halmahera, Maluku in the future.

According to Heru, Jokowi welcomed the plan and the former Surakarta mayor asked the company to provide details on the project, including how it would create new jobs and how much profit it expected to reap once operations commenced.

Jokowi also asked the Japanese firm to invest in railway-based transportation in Sumatra, Java and Papua, he said.

Weda Bay Nickel, a subsidiary of French mining and metals group Eramet SA, would execute the US$ 5 billion nickel smelting project.

The group, which controls a 66.6 percent share in the project, would work on the project with Mitsubishi, state mining firm PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) and Pamco.

Mitsubishi holds a 30 percent stake in the project while Antam and Pamco hold 10 percent and 3.4 percent stakes, respectively.

Source : Jakarta Post