UNIDO Appoints IWIP as a Pilot Project for a Sustainable Nickel Industrial Zone
Fri 23 Jan 2026, 10:37 AM
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The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has designated the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) as a pilot project for sustainable management of a nickel industrial zone.
This designation refers to the Joint Declaration on the Sustainable Development of the Nickel Industry Chain agreed by Tsingshan Holding Group and UNIDO on November 24, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, coinciding with UNIDO’s 21st General Conference and the Global Industry Summit.
Through this collaboration, Tsingshan, UNIDO, and IWIP aim to raise management standards across the industrial park while integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects into zone operations.
Kevin He, President Director of PT IWIP, said being named a pilot area is a key milestone to strengthen the application of sustainability standards within the park.
“IWIP is committed to supporting national priorities—namely downstreaming, value addition, and human capital development—by ensuring that environmental, social, and governance aspects are embedded in operational practices,” he said in a written statement on Friday (January 23).
According to him, this is part of positioning Indonesia as a key player in a sustainable global nickel value chain.
As an initial step in implementing the partnership, Tsingshan, UNIDO, and IWIP held a stakeholder dialogue titled the Tsingshan–UNIDO Collaboration Conference on Industrial Parks for Sustainable Development.
The conference took place on January 14–15, 2026, at the Weda Bay Industrial Park in Central Halmahera, North Maluku.
The forum brought together stakeholders including the Ministry of Industry, industry partners, and trade associations to discuss directions for strengthening governance of a sustainable nickel industrial zone.
The Ministry of Industry views the partnership as a strategic move to reinforce the national industrial transformation agenda and sustainability-based downstreaming policy.
“This collaboration reflects the government’s commitment not only to drive value addition and industrial competitiveness, but also to ensure that the development of industrial parks in Indonesia aligns with ESG principles, environmental protection, and delivers tangible benefits to communities,” said Bayu Fajar Nugroho, Director of Industrial Resource Access and International Promotion at the Ministry of Industry.
The Tsingshan–UNIDO–IWIP cooperation is structured over three years, focusing on elevating environmental, social, and governance standards across the park.
The initiative will be carried out through four pillars: developing a circular economy, building industrial capacity, empowering communities, and strengthening green supply-chain management.
Its scope covers improving resource-use efficiency, adopting cleaner production, enhancing human-capital capabilities, deploying green technologies, applying international standards, and reducing environmental impacts along the industrial value chain.
Within this partnership, UNIDO provides technical assistance and capacity building, while Tsingshan Holding Group supports implementation at the industrial-park level.
Looking ahead, the experience gained from developing IWIP is expected to serve as an early model for sustainable industrial parks elsewhere in Indonesia.
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