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5k hectares of land to be developed into salt fields
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A farmer harvests salt in Surabaya, East Java. (JP/Wahyoe Boediwardhana)
T
he government plans to develop salt fields on 5,000 hectares of idle land in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) in an effort to address the scarcity of the commodity.
State salt producers PT Garam and several private companies plan to utilize the large swath of idle land to apply technology developed by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
“The technology can shorten the production process from 15 days to only four days, and with better salt quality. It can also produce industrial salt, consumption salt and salt for pharmaceutical purposes,” he added.
Read also: State think tank BPPT offers technology to address salt scarcityBPPT head Unggul Priyanto said his agency had offered the government use of its technology, which shakes up seawater to increase salt levels before it flows into reservoirs, where drying facilities are located.
According to BPPT, NTT, West Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi were ideal places to introduce the technology because they offered large stretches of land and experienced low rainfall.
Luhut said the project’s business plan would be ready this month and the salt fields are expected to be in production within two years.
The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry’s director-general for territorial sea management, Brahmantya Satyamurti, said the ministry would visit NTT after Aug. 17, Indonesia’s Independence Day.
Among the locations officials will visit include the provincial capital of Kupang Bay and several regencies, namely Nagekeo, Rote Ndao and Sabu Raijua. (dis/bbn)
