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Batam has opportunity to become national logistics center, says minister
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Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said Batam Islands had the potential to develop more and help grow the country. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
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oordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution has said Batam Island in Riau Islands province has an opportunity to be developed into a national logistics center due to its strategic position close to Singapore and its supporting infrastructure.
“The island could become the center of the logistics-bonded zone or the likes,” said Darmin when inaugurating Maj. Gen. Eko Budi Soepriyatno as deputy for infrastructure development of the Batam Free Trade and Port Zone Authority (KPBPB) in Jakarta on Tuesday night.
The Batam strategic location could be used for transit for ships before they continue their trips to transport various goods and commodities to eastern Indonesian regions and other places in the country, the minister said.
Darmin added that Batam had also been equipped with various infrastructure needed to develop.
Therefore, he stressed the need of close cooperation between the Batam city administration and the Batam Authority Agency (BP Batam) to make the infrastructure become functional for various economic activities to develop the island.
“I am optimistic that the current officials will be able to make Batam become a more developed region,” the minister added, as reported by Antara.
Meanwhile, BP Batam head Lukita Dinarsyah Tuwo said his office was currently trying to utilize idle land for investors to start doing business on the island.
“I [request] land owners open business or cooperate with investors to utilize their plots of land,” he added. (bbn)
