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.
Options prepared to reform Batam management
Change Size
The Barelang Bridge, which connects Batam, Rempang and Galang, Riau islands. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, the Riau Island regional administration and Batam Indonesia Free Zone Authority (BP Batam) are currently working on options to end legal and management uncertainty over Indonesia's free trade zone.
Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said on Wednesday that his office would soon come up with the options to determine whether the regional administration or BP Batam would manage the area.
“We have discussed several options regarding the management and we will discuss it in the next meeting,” he said.
Darmin said the discussion had resulted in three different options in managing the zone, which consists of Batam, Rempang and Galang islands.
The first option, Darmin said, was to appoint BP Batam as a single supervisor in managing the three islands, while the second option was for BP Batam to manage only the area in Batam while the management of Rempang and Galang would be under the supervision of regional-owned enterprises, or the central government. The third option, he said, was to invite private parties to manage either Rempang or Galang.
Darmin said the options would eventually transform the status of Batam, Rempang and Galang into a special economic zone from the current status as a free trade zone. It is expected to take three years for the transition. (rdi)
