Palu special economic zone to boost people's welfare

Selasa, 3 April 2018 06:35 WIB

Minister of National Development Planning / Head of National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Bambang Brodjonegoro (Foto Antara/ist)

Jakarta (Antaranwes Sulteng) - Specifically designed by the central government, the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Palu, Central Sulawesi Province, is expected to encourage processing industries development and help the locals expand their markets to boost their welfare.

Among the 11 special economic zones being built in several provinces across Indonesia, the Palu SEZ will be the first in the central part of the country.

Minister of National Development Planning / Head of National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Bambang Brodjonegoro has expressed optimism that the development of Palu Special Economic Zone will continue in accordance with what is targeted by the government.

Speaking after opening the 2018 Deliberation of Development Planning in Central Sulawesi Province in Palu City on Thursday, Brodjonegoro remarked that the development Palu SEZ has run and has the investors.

The minister noted that the Palu Central Economic Zone development strategy is to strengthen the existing processing industries that process natural resources in Central Sulawesi.

The special economic zone in Palu is managed by PT. Bangun Palu Central Sulawesi (BPST), a local company belonging to the Palu city administration. The BPST has formed a consortium called Palu SEZ Public Private Partnership Investment Center.

The consortium comprises several national and foreign private companies -- PT. STM Tunggal Jaya, an engineering consultant; PT. Deloitte Indonesian Consultant, an infrastructure and capital project advisory; Penida Capital Advisory; Korean Engineering Consultant Corporation; and Hermawan Juniarto Law-Firm -- engaged in various fields, such as engineering, consultancy, and law.

PT. STM Tunggal Jaya, the main strategic partner of PT. Bangun Palu Sulawesi, is managing the SEZ in Palu and will build the physical facilities and infrastructure in the area, with an investment of Rp7.2 trillion.

Currently, seven investors have realized their investment in the Palu SEZ, with a total investment plan of some Rp145 billion in various business sectors.

In the meantine, PT BPST President Director Andi Mulhanan Tombolotutu remarked that every month, one or two companies are interested to invest, and directly take care of the permissions in the administrators of Palu SEZ.

Tombolotutu explained that the implementation related to rules for granting incentives to prospective tenants or companies wishing to invest are being revised, while the basic infrastructure development continues to be encouraged until 2019.

The special economic zone in Palu was inaugurated by Coordinating Minister for Economy Darmin Nasution on September 27, 2017 as the first of the 11 SEZs being built in several provinces across the country.

It also aims to attract potential investors to conduct business in several strategic fields, such as agriculture, forestry, and maritime and fisheries, in order to open up prospects in the global market.

Hence, all investors who conduct their business in strategic commodities in the Palu SEZ will be granted a tax holiday within a certain period of time.

In addition, they will easily obtain licenses, either those under the central government or the governor and regent/mayor authorities.

The investors are allowed to realize their investment, although the Building Permit (IMB) is still being processed. The important aspect is that investors have met the requirements of obtaining the IMB and their businesses are under the supervision of the local administrations.

Palu Special Economic Zone, which house, among others, nickel mining companies and cocoa processing plants, will be built on an area measuring 500 hectares and has a complete institution as the manager.

Special Economic Zones have long been touted by the government as the solution to developing centers for economic growth outside of Java island.

Each zone will be established in a region in which a variety of industries are expected to grow and thrive due to prime resource potential which would benefit from investment.

The zones are designed to be investment-friendly with necessary infrastructure and business procedure to be tailored to the region. These changes include invest guarantee, legal certainties, integrated services and infrastructure development.

In addition, the tourism industry has been targeted under the plan, with the government hoping to boost national tourism.

Out of ten tourism destinations that have been appointed by the government, four of them are located in Mandalika, Tanjung Lesung, Morotai and Tanjung Kelayang SEZs.

Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (Asita) has said many investors were interested in the development of special economic zones in the country.

There are a number of investors who are looking forward to invest in the hotel industry in Danau Toba, Tanjung Kelayang and Nusa Dua, Mandalika, and also in Palu.

The government hopes the transformation of authority bodies in several tourism destinations can lead to the strengthening of SEZs and in turn attract the interest of more investors.

In the future, the government has planned to form more authorities dedicated to tourism destinations and the development of many special economic zones across the archipelago.