Infinity Aluminum enters commissioning phase at IMIP smelter project: Source

By Dominikus

PT Infinity Aluminum Industry (IAI), an electrolytic aluminum company based at Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Central Sulawesi, has entered the commissioning phase for its 600,000-ton-per-year aluminum smelter project, a source familiar with the matter told Petromindo.com.

“It has entered the commissioning stage,” the source said on Tuesday (May 26), without specifying when the company would begin trial production.

The commissioning indication is supported by site observations showing packaged alumina from PT Borneo Alumindo Prima and stacks of anodes inside the company’s warehouse, suggesting preparations for initial smelter operation are underway.

IAI’s project is widely referred to in Chinese procurement records as the Taijing Aluminum project. Chinese-language sources have described the project as a cooperation between Tsingshan and Xinfa Group, with a total planned electrolytic aluminum capacity of 600,000 tons per year.

The project is being developed within IMIP, a major industrial complex in Morowali that has expanded from stainless steel and nickel processing into battery materials and aluminum-related industries.

The commissioning phase also appears to be aligned with the progress of captive coal-fired power facilities at Labota, within the broader IMIP area. As previously reported by Petromindo.com, electricity supply for aluminum projects in IMIP is expected to be supported by three 710 MW ultra-supercritical generating units.

Chinese procurement records reviewed by Petromindo.com show that China Chemical Engineering Second Construction Co., Ltd. Fifth Company continued to carry out construction and installation-related procurement for the Taijing Aluminum project between April and May 2026.

Read also: Aluminum project indicates new 2.13 GW coal power development at IMIP

The procurement packages covered doors and windows, construction materials, floor deck plates, rails, gutters, color-coated panels, aluminothermic welding agent, aluminum welding wire and CO2 gas-shielded welding wire.

Several packages had reached the award stage by mid-May, including floor deck plates, rails and aluminothermic welding agent. Other packages, including color-coated panels and welding materials, were retendered or revised after receiving fewer than three valid bidders, according to the records.

The procurement activity indicates that construction and installation work was still ongoing in the weeks leading to the commissioning phase. It does not confirm commercial operation or full ramp-up of the project’s 600,000-ton-per-year capacity.

Chinese market reports have previously indicated that the first phase of the Taijing project, with a planned capacity of around 300,000 tons per year, was targeted for 2026. The full project capacity is listed at 600,000 tons per year.

Once operational, IAI would add to Indonesia’s emerging primary aluminum capacity and expand IMIP’s industrial base beyond nickel, stainless steel and battery materials into electrolytic aluminum.

Editing Reiner Simanjuntak