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s Indonesia’s economy expands at an impressive rate, Japanese investors are committed to bringing more investment into the country while expecting Indonesia to improve its basic infrastructure, particularly in industrial estates, to cater to the needs of the firms, according to a business association.

“In general, the size of investment from Japan will rise and accelerate. I am sure that as investment comes in, infrastructure is a must and therefore, we ask the Indonesian government to provide sufficient infrastructure,” Japan Indonesia Association chairman Yasuo Fukuda said on Tuesday in Jakarta after meeting Industry Minister MS Hidayat at his office.

Fukuda, who is the former Japanese prime minister, is visiting Indonesia along with dozens of top Japanese executives of reputable firms, such as the Japan Gas Corporation (JGC) and Chiyoda Corporation, to explore new business opportunities and discuss ways to solve major bottlenecks hampering the business climate with the government.

The government welcomed the commitment and would seek ways of addressing the concerns voiced by the Japanese businesspeople, said Hidayat after the meeting.

Regarding land provision, the government would prepare a new industrial estate in Karawang, West Java, where major Japanese automotive manufacturers were largely concentrated, he added.

“We will prepare an area of 3,000 hectares in Karawang that will serve as a center for the automotive and electronics industries,” he said.

Apart from that, the government planned to build a new seaport, the location of which it was yet to specify, to cater for the increasing need to transport goods as requested by Japanese firms, Hidayat added.

Several Japanese firms, like JGC, are also looking into possibilities to form joint ventures with local firms to set up a stronger presence in the country, according to Hidayat.

Indonesia’s automotive boom in the past year has attracted global automotive firms, mostly Japanese firms, to pour in more investment in a bid to tap further into the country’s fast-growing four-wheel and two-wheel markets, which this year are estimated to hit 1.1 million cars and 7 million motorcycles respectively.

Japan’s top automaker, Toyota Motor Corporation, for example, has reaffirmed its commitment to Indonesia by investing up to Rp 13 trillion (US$1.35 billion) within the next five years for a range of expansion activities in Southeast Asia’s biggest automobile market.

This significant investment has pushed the country’s spare parts and component makers to set up manufacturing facilities in areas near the production sites of the major automotive makers.

Investment in spare parts and components manufacturing is estimated to reach $2.4 billion this year, according to statistics from the Industry Ministry.

The ministry’s director general for international industry cooperation Agus Tjahajana said that some Japanese firms had shown interest in investing in coal liquefaction as well as in the engineering, procurement and construction sectors to build oil and gas infrastructure, petrochemical plants and other manufacturing sites.

During the January-September period this year, Japan poured around $1.8 billion in investment into Indonesia, making it the second top investor after Singapore.