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Indonesia seeks to bring Batam, Singapore closer
The government is aiming to connect Batam to both Singapore and the neighboring Malaysian city of Johor in a move that Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto has said could accelerate development in the surrounding areas.
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A ferry arriving from Batam Island heads toward the Harbour Front in Singapore on July 15, 2022. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)
I
ndonesia is preparing to build more infrastructure to connect the island of Batam in the Riau Islands province with neighboring Singapore in what a senior minister has described as an effort to revive old plans for an Indonesia-Singapore-Malaysia growth triangle known as “Sijori”.
The government is aiming to connect Batam to both Singapore and the neighboring Malaysian city of Johor in a move that Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto has said could accelerate development in the surrounding areas.
Speaking after his meeting with Singaporean Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong on Tuesday, Airlangga said Indonesia would provide the legal framework and physical infrastructure to allow for the free movement of people, goods, services and data between Batam and Singapore.
Airlangga, who oversees the work of the Batam authority, added that efforts to build physical infrastructure connecting Batam and other major islands of the Riau Islands province would be increased.
"Currently the tendering stage is underway for the construction of a bridge that would connect Batam and the neighboring Bintan island," Airlangga said at a press briefing.
To allow for the free flow of data between Singapore and Batam, where a number of data centers are now located, the government is working on a regulation to facilitate such data transfers, Airlangga noted.
The Batam authority will also begin work to set up a solar power plant for data centers in the island's Nongsa Digital Park.
