Indonesia Lures 7 Foreign Locators to Batang Industrial Estate, 17 More in Talks With Government

Batang Industrial Estate is located strategically in the Batang Regency as it is near the Trans Java toll road and the railway from Jakarta to Surabaya as well as the Tanjung Emas Seaport in Semarang.

Years ago, this industrial estate area was associated with an eerie road known as Alas Roban. It is a major road that is part of the Pantura line which divides the forest in the regency. Car accidents often happened in the area due to its steep road and hilly terrain. But these accidents have been linked by many to mystical events.

To improve road safety, the government has already built a new lane for safe driving next to the old one.

No need to buy land

State-Owned Enterprises Minister (BUMN) Erick Thohir said foreign investors who want to invest in the Batang Integrated Industrial Zone (KIT) in Central Java do not need to buy land.

Investors, Erick added, can obtain a long-term lease.

"Through PTPN III [State-owned plantation holding PT Perkebunan Nusantara III], we will acquire land so that the entire land will be under the state-owned enterprises ministry and will facilitate the investors who come to invest in a long-term land lease," Erick said in a statement recently.

Later other state-owned companies will provide facilities at the Batang KIT, Erick added. For example, Perkebunan Nusantara and PTPN IX will provide land and process the conversion from HGU (right to use) to HPL (right to manage).

He went on to say that PT Pembangunan Perumahan and the Semarang-based PT Kawasan Industri Wijayakusuma will plan its master development, Pelindo III will manage the port and Pertamina will provide gas and fuel networks.

"With the President’s [Joko Widodo] direction to accelerate the development of the Batang Industrial Estate, the state-owned enterprises ministry will immediately work together with all relevant state companies and city-owned firms as well as the private sector," said the minister.

The development of the Batang Integrated Industrial Estate also aims to improve the economy in Central Java and to create a counterweight to industrial estates in Jakarta and Pasuruan in East Java.

It is also hoped that the industrial estate will be able to increase the regional minimum wage, which is still relatively low, and increase its human resources capacity.

The first phase of development of the Batang industrial estate is carried out on an area of 450 hectares and is expected to provide jobs to 30,000 people.

Meanwhile, state power firm PT PLN will prepare an electricity network. Currently, the Batang coal-fired power plant (PLTU) has a capacity of 2 x 1,000 megawatts and its solar power generator (PLTS) provides 50 megawatts.

“With fierce global economic competition in the time of Covid-19, Indonesia’s efforts to build a special industrial estate in Central Java such as in Batang is a means to increase competitiveness," he said.

(KOMPAS.com/Ade Miranti | Editor: Bambang Djatmiko, Muhammad Idris)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/07/10/112317026/batang-dulu-dikenal-jalur-angker-kini-diincar-investor?page=all