The Ministry of Industry integrates the development and management of the Batam, Bintan and Karimun (BBK) areas, Riau Islands Province, which has great potential and plays an important role in accelerating national economic recovery efforts. "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 integrated and mutually supportive," said the Director General of Resilience, Territorial and International Industrial Access (KPAII) of the Ministry of Industry Eko SA Cahyanto in a statement in Jakarta, Saturday. In addition, Eko continued, BBK strives to be supported by connected and integrated infrastructure development, as well as harmonization and synchronization of regulations related to investment licensing, investment facilities and ease of use.
Based on the master plan for the development of the BBK area, it is divided into certain themes. For the Batam area, it will become an international logistics hub, especially for e-commerce, the aerospace industry, the light and valuable industry, especially for opto-electronics and home appliances, digital and creative industries, international trade and finance centers, and integrated health tourism. For the Bintan area, it will be developed with the theme of international tourism, the MRO industry, the transportation industry, the food processing industry, the maritime and defense industry, and the sports industry. Meanwhile, for the Karimun area, it will be developed with the theme of maritime industry, oil tanking and refinery industry, agri-tech industry, seafood processing industry, and tourism. In particular, the Ministry of Industry also encourages the development of the halal industry in the Bintan Inti Industrial Estate area, which has been designated by the Minister of Industry as a halal industrial area. "With the huge potential for the halal industry, we hope that industrial estates in this region can contribute to increasing Indonesia's competitiveness at the global level," said Eko.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Industry continues to work hard to solve various challenges in the development of industrial estates in the Riau Islands Province, especially BBK. "For example, we propose adjusting competitive gas prices, providing waste management, and accelerating business licensing for the industrial sector and industrial estates," said Eko. Regarding the gas price facility, the government has issued a gas price of six US dollars per MMBTU for several industrial sectors and is currently proposing the same tariff for other industrial sectors, including for industrial areas. "In relation to waste management, we also support the plan of the Ladi Island Industrial Estate to build an integrated waste processing industry in the Riau Archipelago which can be a solution to the problems of industrial waste and industrial estates in this region," he added. In order to maintain industrial performance and increase investment, especially in the Riau Islands, cooperation and coordination with relevant stakeholders such as local governments, associations and industry players, industrial estate managers, and business entities in the region are needed. "This spirit must also be supported by the commitment of the managers of industrial areas in the Riau Archipelago who are actively preparing permits, developing regional infrastructure, as well as regional marketing and regional operations," concluded Eko.
