Agrinas maps up to 1 million hectares for Indonesia’s E20 plan
The company is assessing land for bioethanol feedstock crops, with initial estimates putting cassava-based production costs at around Rp8,000 per litre including additional expenses.
PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara (Persero) is identifying suitable land covering up to 1 million hectares to grow bioethanol feedstock, supporting Indonesia’s plan to raise the ethanol blend in petrol to E20. President director Mohammad Abdul Ghani outlined the preparations at a media discussion in South Jakarta on 8 October 2026.
The company is assessing areas that could support cassava, sorghum or maize cultivation. Domestic sugarcane-based ethanol production cannot yet meet demand if blending targets increase: most sugarcane is used to make sugar, while its molasses by-product also supplies industries such as food manufacturing.
Agrinas’s preliminary study estimates that producing ethanol from cassava could cost about Rp6,300 per litre, rising to around Rp8,000 per litre when additional expenses are included. Abdul Ghani put the government’s ethanol purchase reference price at Rp10,800 per litre.
He said those costs could make the project commercially viable without subsidies, with Pertamina a potential buyer for fuel blending under E20. Bank financing could be available if projects have a clear market and adequate economics, he said. He also sought easier access to forest land for feedstock cultivation, saying a viable project would not need state-budget funding.
Abdul Ghani estimated that cultivating 1 million hectares of cassava could generate about 500,000 direct jobs and 600,000 indirect jobs. He also projected foreign-exchange savings of Rp94 trillion per year from the development.
