Gov't Gears Up to Establish Special Economic Zone in W. Java
Jakarta. The government has begun a two-week preliminary study on the establishment of the Bekasi-Karawang-Purwakarta Special Economic Zone in West Java, following last week's dialog between President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, or Kadin, a minister announced on Thursday (02/11).
"Results of the study will be released on Nov. 16 or 17 ... [and] will be followed by a session with district and provincial officials," Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan told reporters in Jakarta.
Ridwan Djamaludin, the ministry's deputy for infrastructure coordination, and the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) are tasked to lead the study on a designated area of 1,000 square kilometers. Its agenda was decided on Thursday's meeting of the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Finance and Bappenas, which also saw in attendance Kadin leaders Rosan Roeslani and James Riady, and Indonesian Industrial Estate Association chairman Sanny Iskandar.
The special economic zone is expected to increase the efficiency of domestic production and decrease its costs with one-roof economic coordination and easier regulations, in the process of integrating Jakarta and Bandung as a massive urban area with an estimated population of 80 million in 2045.
The government is currently working on infrastructure developments to support the region. They include a light rail system, a high-speed rail line, an elevated toll road, the Patimban deep-sea port and Kertajati International Airport.
"We can't think only two or five years forward, we have to plan until 2045 or 2050 ... This is a visionary project that will have a significant impact [on the economy]," Rosan said.
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