22 regions to apply for special economic zone
Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 04/21/2009 12:06 PM
The government said Tuesday 22 regions have applied to be part of the special economic zone (SEZ), which may be implemented starting next year.
The 22 regions are North Sumatra, South Sumatra, Riau, Riau Island, Bangka Belitung, Bengkulu, Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Maluku, West Papua and Papua.
Bambang Susantono, the deputy of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, in charge of infrastructure and regional development, said the government would scrutinize the capability of regions before granting them to be part of SEZ.
"There is not any prioritized regions. We will see how their preparation to meet the criteria (of SEZ)," he said.
He added that the government had not decided when to implement the SEZ. The SEZ bill is still being discussed with the House of Representatives, and may be endorsed as soon as October.
