VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 12 - The Indonesian government has projected that two new special economic zones (SEZ) in West and East Java would attract US$19.3 billion in investments, and thus support the business ecosystem in those regions.

The new economic zones are Lido in West Java and Java Integrated Industrial and Port Estate (JIIPE) in Gresik, East Java.

“The Lido special economic zone is expected to be able to boost tourism in Indonesia. The result must be clear, tourists to West Java must also be of international quality,” said Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, who is also chairman of the KEK National Council, in Jakarta on Thursday.

The Lido SEZ is projected to attract investments of up to US$2.4 billion and absorb 29,545 workers in its 20th year, he said.

The JIIPE SEZ is expected to bring in investments of US$16.9 billion and employ 199,818 people once it is fully operational, he said.

The Lido SEZ will be developed as a tourism project with attractions such as a world-class theme park, golf courses, and retail and dining facilities, he noted.

It will also have six-star luxury resort accommodations, film studios, and music festivals, he added.

The presence of a theme park in Lido is expected to increase the number of domestic and foreign tourists to 63.4 million visitors by 2038, or an average of 3.17 million tourists per year.

According to Hartarto, foreign exchange flows from foreign tourists as well as foreign exchange savings from domestic tourists could reach US$4.1 billion over 20 years.

Meanwhile, at JIIPE, there are plans to develop businesses in the metal, electronics, chemical, energy, and logistics industries, he said.

JIIPE is expected to contribute exports valued at US$10.1 billion per year once it is fully operational, as well as import substitution for metal and chemical industrial products, he said.

The two SEZ proposals, which have been approved, will be recommended to President Joko Widodo.

Indonesia so far has developed 15 SEZs. They comprise nine industrial SEZs and six tourism SEZs in Arun, Lhokseumawe, Aceh; Sei Mangkei, North Sumatra; Tanjung Api-Api; South Sumatra, Galang Batang, Riau Islands; Tanjung Kelayang, Bangka Belitung Islands; Tanjung Lesung, Banten; Mandalika, NTB; Maloy Batuta Trans East Kalimantan; Palu, Central Sulawesi; Bitung, North Sulawesi; Morotai, North Maluku; Sorong, West Papua; Singhasari, East Java; Likupang, North Sulawesi; and Kendal, Central Java.

The development of the SEZs has resulted in an investment commitment of Rp70.4 trillion, of which Rp23.1 trillion has been realized as of the end of 2020.

The biggest investment realization came from Galang Batang, which officially became operational at the end of 2018, followed by Sei Mangkei and Kendal, which became an SEZ at the end of 2019.

In addition, the development of SEZs has created 19,951 jobs as of the end of 2020. (Antaranews)

Feb. 12 - Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno met with Bali Governor Wayan Koster on Thursday to discuss a soft loan of Rp9.9 trillion for Bali Island's tourism industry and creative economy players this year.

“Mr. Minister has shown his strong commitment and care for Bali's tourism industry," Governor Koster told journalists after receiving Uno at his official residence in Denpasar, the capital of Bali province.

During their meeting, Koster said they discussed special programs to revive and recover Bali's tourism sector, which has been severely battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, over the short, middle, and long term.

The Bali provincial government is supportive of the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry's programs because they are in line with the wishes of Balinese tourism stakeholders and creative economy entrepreneurs, he added.

All programs the ministry has designed and decided can be executed this year, said Governor Koster, who was accompanied by his deputy, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati (Cok Ace), during the meeting.

"The sooner the better. By doing so, local tourism industry players and those severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can soon be rescued, at least in the short term," he noted.

Meanwhile, Minister Sandiaga Uno said he and Governor Koster discussed a soft loan of Rp9.9 trillion for the Balinese tourism industry and creative economy players.

The Bali provincial government and Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin)-Bali chapter have proposed a stimulus package of Rp1.5 billion to boost local tourism entrepreneurs' cash flows, he said.

The proposed stimulus package is being discussed and included in the national economic recovery program, he said, adding that several labor-intensive programs for reviving Bali's tourism sector have been started.

Among them are a jogging track construction project; declaration of 177 tourism villages; Klungkung's waste-management project; and, a program to improve tourist destinations, he said.

Those labor-intensive programs, including planned waste-management projects in Kuta and several other tourist sites in Bali, are expected to create job opportunities for lots of people, he added.

Indonesia has been striving to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic since the government officially announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease has dragged Indonesia into serious public health and economic crises. Tourism has been among the severely-affected economic sectors in the country, and Bali tourism has been badly battered by the pandemic. (Antaranews)

Feb. 11 - India and China have agreed to pull back troops from a bitterly contested lake area high in the western Himalayas, the Indian defence minister said on Thursday, in a breakthrough after a months-long standoff on the disputed border.

Rajnath Singh told parliament the accord over Pangong Tso, a glacial lake at 14,000 ft (4,270 metres), had been reached after several rounds of talks between military commanders and diplomats from the nuclear-armed neighbours.

“Our sustained talks with China have led to agreement on disengagement on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake,” he said.

China’s defence ministry said frontline troops from the two countries had begun to pull back from the shores of the lake on Wednesday.

The standoff began in April last year when India said Chinese troops had intruded deep into its side of the Line of Actual Control or the de facto border in the Ladakh area in the western Himalayas.

China said its troops were operating in its own area and accused Indian border guards of provocative actions.

In June, 20 Indian soldiers were killed when the two sides clashed with iron rods and stones in the Galwan Valley, the first combat losses on the border in 45 years. China also suffered an unspecified number of casualties.

Since then the two countries, who fought a war in 1962, had moved thousands of troops, tanks, artillery guns and combat jets close to the border.

Singh said the Indian government had told Beijing that peace and tranquility had been seriously disturbed by the actions of Chinese troops and bilateral ties had suffered.

“To ensure disengagement in friction points along the LAC, it was our view that troops of both sides, who are now in close proximity, should vacate the forward deployments made in 2020 and return to the permanent and accepted bases,” he said.

Pangong lake is a finger of water extending from China’s Tibet Autonomous Region in India’s Ladakh region.

In August, Indian troops occupied heights on the southern banks of the lake in retaliation against Chinese troops advancing further along the north bank.

Singh said the two sides had agreed to dismantle defence structures they had built on the two sides of the lake, two-thirds of which China controls.

Once the disengagement has been completed at the lake, military commanders will meet within 48 hours to discuss pull back from other areas, Singh said.

India and China have not been able to agree on their 3,500 km (2,200 mile) long border since the war in 1962. (Reuters)

Feb. 11 - Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi held bilateral talks with Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Kanasugi Kenji to discuss cooperation in the transportation sector.

The meeting served as a momentum for Kenji to introduce himself as a new ambassador to Indonesia in place of Ishii Masafumi since February 4, 2021, the Transportation Ministry noted in a statement released on Thursday.

At the meeting, Sumadi and Kenji discussed several cooperation projects between the two countries, including the Patimban Port, the second phase of the mass rapid transit (MRT) system in Jakarta, and the plan for development of the Jakarta-Surabaya semi-high speed railway.

The duo also discussed cooperation for development of several transportation infrastructure projects in Indonesia under a government-to-business corporation (KPBU) financing scheme.

Sumadi also expressed the ministry's support to the Japanese company's participation to become part of the consortium of port corporate bodies (BJP) to serve as provider of suprastructure and operator of Patimban Port.

They also discussed the possibility of cooperation in developing human resources.

"I hope the Japanese government would support further cooperation in the capacity building program for human resources to operate the Patimban Port," he stated.

At the meeting, the discussions also covered the plan to complete development of the second phase of the MRT system in Jakarta comprising segment 1 (HI Roundabout-Harmoni) currently under construction and scheduled for completion by 2025 and Segment 2 (Harmoni-Kota) expected to be completed by 2027.

Sumadi spoke of the ministry having coordinated with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in conducting a preparatory survey for the Java Northern Line Upgrading Project as part of the Jakarta-Surabaya semi-high speed railway development plan.  (Antaranews)