TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Arun Lhokseumawe in Aceh to be new growth center
Change Size
Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution speaks to journalists when attending an event in Serpong, South Tangerang. (JP/Anton Hermansyah)
C
oordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution has made assurances that Arun Lhokseumawe in Aceh is ready to become a special economic zone (KEK) within the next 10 years with a total investment of US$3.8 billion.
“Arun Lhokseumawe has met the requirements to become a special economic zone. We will propose it to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo,” said Darmin after chairing a coordination meeting of economic ministers in Jakarta on Monday night as reported by tempo.co.
The consortium of several state-owned enterprises – energy company PT Pertamina, fertilizer company PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda and seaport operator PT Pelindo I, as well as companies owned by the Aceh administration – have expressed interest in investing in the area, he added.
(Read also: Ten companies to invest in KEK Palu)
President Jokowi would establish the 2,622-hectare economic zone through a government regulation. It is expected to create some 40,000 jobs.
Among the industries to be developed in the area include a plant for the regasification of liquified natural gas (LNG), an LNG trading hub, an LNG plant, environmentally friendly power plants, a petrochemical cluster and an agro-industry and its related products .
Darmin said the government would develop infrastructure, particularly an international-standard seaport, to support the development of industries in the area.
Darmin said the people at the meeting also discussed the development of other special economic zones, like those on Galang Batang Island, Bintan Island, Asam Island and Karimun Island, but Darmin added that the areas have not yet been proposed to the President because there were still several administrative problems to be solved. (bbn)
