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nfrastructure development to support the Palu Special Economic Zone (KEK) will commence later this year, Central Sulawesi Governor Longki Djonggala has said.

As part of support for the KEK Longki announced that state power company PT PLN would supply 125 megawatts of power from the Sulewana Poso hydro-electric plant.

The governor told journalists in a discussion at the Palu office of the Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) on Saturday evening that PLN had almost completed laying the transmission line, which was scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. '€œConsequently, the power supply will not just be for the Palu KEK, but also Palu city and Sulawesi in general,'€ said Longki.

He added that apart from power, the provincial administration would also build a 35.7-km Palu-Parigi bypass road passing through the existing 65-km Parigimpu-Sigi-Palu Poros Kebun Kopi route.

'€œThe central government has agreed the budget of Rp 1.5 trillion [US$125 million] for the project, and has disbursed Rp 50 billion for the initial stage this year,'€ said Longki.

The road, said Longki, was part of the national strategic project, because it was an economically efficient access route for goods and services for the Sulawesi as well as the Papua, Maluku and Kalimantan economic corridors.

The road, which links Palu and the Parigi-Moutong regency capital of Parigi, cuts the '€œswan neck'€ of Sulawesi Island.

The Makassar Strait in Palu and Tomini Bay in Parigi will serve as the main inter-regional economic transaction means for the region.

'€œSo, large freighters need no longer go around Sulawesi Island and face heavy seas in the Sulawesi and Banda-Aru seas, but just sail to Parigi,'€ said Longki.

The government, added Longki, would immediately build an overpass from the Palu KEK to Pantoloan Port. However, he did not elaborate on the size of the budget for this project.

Besides using funds from the state budget for the road project, the Central Sulawesi provincial administration has also set aside Rp 8 billion for basic infrastructure development, including the road network in the Palu KEK and several other needs.

Palu Mayor Andi Mulhana Tombolotutu said six domestic and foreign investors were currently ready to undertake projects, including Shenzen Nanli Engineering Decoration Co. Ltd. from China, which would engage in logistics (warehousing, packaging, processing and inventory), end-product processing and manufacturing electronic goods, with an overall investment value of Rp 10 trillion.

PT Sinosteel Corporation, also from China, will build a nickel-processing plant worth Rp 7.6 trillion.

PT Intraco Penta will invest Rp 4.5 trillion in the assembling, heavy machinery maintenance and automotive industries. The subsidiary of the Volvo automotive company, has also set up a representative office in Palu.

PT Multistrada Arah Sarana will invest Rp 15 trillion in the rubber-processing industry. The company owns an 80-hectare rubber plantation in Parigi-Moutong regency.

Another foreign investor that has expressed an interest in investing in the Palu KEK is Big Trade California which will establish a cacao-processing plant. The US Consulate General in Surabaya has made a visit to Palu to inspect the Palu KEK project.

The government, said Mulhanan, had provided a 1,500-hectare (ha) plot in North Palu for the Palu KEK.

The plot is divided into an industrial zone (700 ha), residential area (500 ha), education and research area (100 ha), commercial area (100 ha), sports area (50 ha), warehouse area (50 ha) and plantation and park area (20 ha).