The Government Assessed Seven New Special Economic Zones

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - Secretary of Coordinating Minister for Economy Lukita Dinarsyah Tuwo said as many as seven areas are in government studies before setting them into Special Economic Zones (KEK).

"Seven proposals are being reviewed," Lukita said in a presentation in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Lukita said that the area under study, among others, Kuala Tanjung in North Sumatra with an investment plan of Rp94 trillion, Pulau Asam Karimun in Riau Islands with an investment plan of Rp 10 trillion and Merauke in Papua with an investment plan of Rp926 billion.

"The other areas are Melolo in East Nusa Tenggara, Bangka Island Tourism Area in Bangka Belitung and Nongsa Islands in Batam," he said.

Lukita added that one area is in the proposed for the establishment of KEK, namely Galang Batang in Riau Islands with an investment plan of Rp36.25 trillion.

Currently, there are 11 SEZs that are in the list of government priorities, namely Sei Mangkei, Tanjung Lesung, Palu, Bitung, Morotai, Tanjung Api-Api, Mandalika, Tanjung Kelayang, Sorong, Arun Lhokseumawe and Maloy Batuta Trans Kalimantan.

According to the plan, the government is considering to add 14 new KEK so that in 2019 the total KEK will be 25 areas.

However, up to now, only two fully operated SEZs are Sei Mangkei SEZ in North Sumatra focusing on the development of downstream CPO and KEK Tanjung Lesung products in Banten which is a tourism area.

Some investors are reported to have been interested in investing in the development of the Mandalika KEK in West Nusa Tenggara and KEK Tanjung Kelayang in Belitung which is also a tourist area.

The total investment target of this KEK reached Rp669 trillion with the realization now has reached Rp143, 65 trillion and the target of employment up to 632,583 people

Jababeka Area Invests Rp6.8 Trillion to Develop Morotai KEK

PT Kawasan Industri Jababeka Tbk (KIJA) through its subsidiary PT Morotai Jababeka, will develop the Special Economic Zone (KEK) Morotai in North Maluku. The development of SEZ on an area of ​​1,250 hectares is estimated to cost Rp6.8 trillion.

Budianto Liman, President Director of KIJA, said that the development of the Morotai KEK will be done gradually. For the first phase, PT Morotai Jababeka will build 10,000 homes for the middle class and provide hotels with a total of 10,000 rooms.

The KEK will be equipped with a number of tourism and school facilities as part of the development of indigenous competence, Budianto said.

Budianto explained that about 60% of the land needed to develop the Morotai KEK has been released at this time. Therefore, PT Morotai Jababeka is currently beginning to design the SEZ development design.

Completion of this project takes a long time. We have to wait until the infrastructure has been completed. Because the development of KEK will not happen without the availability of water, electricity and road access, said Budianto.

Therefore, according to Budiono, the company's management is currently looking for strategic partners to develop the Morotai KEK.

Meanwhile, Suteja Darmono, Director of KIJA, said, Morotai has tremendous potential to be developed. This is evidenced by the government's decision that Morotai is prioritized to be one of 10 national strategic tourism areas.

For us, besides worthy of being a tourism destination, Morotai is also predicted to become an economic hub in eastern Indonesia, Suteja said.

Meanwhile, the government through the Ministry of Public Works and People's Housing (PUPR) plans to build Morotai, especially Daruba, Wayabula and Bobula regions