Batam, Bintan, Karimun Development Will Be Integrated: Ministry

TheIndonesia.id - The Industry Ministry would integrate the development and management of the Batam, Bintan, and Karimun (BBK) areas in Riau Islands Province, which have great potential and play an important role in accelerating the national economic recovery.

"The government will integrate the development and management of the BBK area. This integration will include the development of the industrial sector and strategic services that are mutually supportive," the ministry's Director-General of Industry Resilience, Territorial and International Industry Access (KPAII) Eko SA Cahyanto said in a statement quoted by Antara news agency, Saturday, December 11, 2021.

In addition, Cahyanto continued, the areas would be supported by integrated infrastructure development, as well as synchronized regulations on investment licensing, facilities, and ease of investing. Based on the development master plan, the BBK area would be divided into different themes.

Batam will become an international logistics hub, especially for e-commerce, aerospace industry, light and valuable industry for optoelectronics and home appliances, digital and creative industries, international trade and finance centers, and integrated health tourism.

Bintan will be developed for the international tourism, MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) industry, transportation industry, food processing industry, maritime and defense industry, and sports industry.

While Karimun will be developed for the maritime industry, oil tanking and refinery industry, agri-tech industry, seafood processing industry, and tourism.

In particular, the ministry has encouraged the development of halal industry in the Bintan Inti Industrial Estate area, which has been designated by the Industry Minister as a halal industrial area.

"With the huge potential for the halal industry, we hope that industrial estates in the region can contribute to increasing Indonesia's competitiveness at the global level," Cahyanto said.

Furthermore, the ministry continues to work hard to solve various challenges in the development of industrial estates in Riau Islands Province, especially the BBK area.

"We have proposed competitive gas price adjustment, waste management facility, and acceleration of business licensing for the industrial sector and industrial estates," he said.

The government, he said, has set gas prices for certain industries at US$6 per MMBTU. It is currently proposing the same tariff for all industrial sectors, including for industrial estates.

"Concerning waste management, we also support the plan of the Ladi Island Industrial Estate to build an integrated waste processing industry in Riau Islands that can be a solution to the problems of industrial waste and industrial estates in this region," he added.

According to Cahyanto, cooperation and coordination with relevant stakeholders such as local governments, associations, and industry players, industrial estate operators, and business entities in the region are needed, to maintain industrial performance and increase investment in the province.

"This spirit must also be supported by the commitment of the industrial estates' operators in Riau Islands who are actively preparing permits, developing infrastructure, as well as marketing and operations of the estates," he said.