According to the data published by Global Energy Monitor, the Delong Industrial Park has a number of captive coal-fired power plants in operation and under construction. Those in operation amount to a total capacity of 2,505MW: 1) Phase I – 530MW; 2) Phase II – 1,840MW; 3) Phase III –135MW [3]–[6]. The Unit 2-12 of Phase III are under construction, amounting to a total of 2,160MW [5].

Residents that live close to Delong Nickel Smelter began to complain about the pollution from coal dust after the coal-fired power plants began operation [7]. These involve at least 6 villages:  Sama Subur, Wawoluri, Puuwonggia, Ranombopulu, Motui and Lambuluo. It was reported that the coal dust regularly blows up to 3 kilometers away from the power station and affects households both indoors and outdoors [7]. Children in the area began coughing and having respiratory problems [7].  A written complaint signed by 15 village heads was submitted to PT Obsidian Stainless Steel (OSS) [7]. Baharudin, Head of Motui Village, said the black dust was very disturbing to residents' activities and that a lot of dust began to fly since the beginning of the previous August [7]. Roni Syukur, Head of Mining Engineering (KTT) of PT OSS, admitted that the black particles felt by residents were from coal and that the construction of the belt conveyor is in process to address the issue of coal dust from transportation [7].

A number of violent protests by workers at the Delong industrial work took place towards the end of 2020, one of which paralyzed the operations of Delong’s Virtue Dragon nickel smelter plant [8], [9]. A protest involved 800 workers calling for higher salaries and better working conditions e.g. permanent employment for contractors. When management refused to meet with the protestors, the demonstrators began destroying company property. Significant damage was inflicted up on the nickel production facilities, and about 40 pieces of heavy equipment were set on fire and destroyed[3], [4], [8].  In January 2023 there was further labor conflicts and unrest. |[12] [13]. 

The number of operating nickel smelters was 2 before the first export ban in 2014, 13 in 2020. Indonesia’s export restrictions led to a complaint by the European Union at the WTO claiming that the restrictions unfairly limited EU producers’ access to nickel ore. "China, on the other hand, deals with the export ban by investing in nickel processing in Indonesia, circumventing it to some extent, and importing more nickel ore from the Philippines".[10]. According to Reuters (8 Sept. 2022) the President of Indonesia, known as Jokowi, said: "It looks like we will lose at the WTO, but it's fine, the industry is already built. ". The ban has boosted Indonesia's export revenues, Jokowi said, noting its nickel ore shipments were worth around $1 billion seven years ago, compared with $20.9 billion worth of exports of nickel-based products in 2021. Jokowi reiterated Indonesia will stop exporting raw copper, bauxite and tin to encourage foreign investment and help the country jump up the value chain in resource processing.

This is the recent background to the investment in the Indonesian Delong Industrial Park, a ferronickel and stainless steel industrial park developed by China's Jiangsu Delong Nickel Co., Ltd., with a planned area of 2,200 hectares and an output capacity of 3-million-tonnes of ferronickel and 2.5-million-tons of stainless steel [1]. The industrial park was inaugurated in 2014, with two plants in Kendari and one in Morowali [1]. Phase one includes 500 hectares of land and is valued at US$1 billion, while phase two project includes 700 hectares of land and is valued at US$2.5 billion of investment. The third phase of the project plans to build a ferronickel production line that is expected to process 13 million tonnes of nickel ore per year and have 1.8 million tonnes annual ferronickel production capacity, along with captive power plants, docks and other auxiliary facilities [2], [11]. In December 2021, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated the third phase of the project, the $2.7 billion ferronickel plant is owned by PT Gunbuster Nickel Indonesia, a subsidiary of Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co. Ltd. [2]. It was reported that the industrial park has provided 30,000 jobs for local people, accounting for 80 percent of the staff [1].