Erick Thohir Hopes SEZ Sei Mangkei Of North Sumatra Becomes A Destination For Investors In China, Malaysia, Etc.: Like President Jokowi's Instructions

Minister of SOEs, Erick Thohir. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - SOE Minister Erick Thohir hopes that the Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will be able to invite investors to invest to improve the economy and create jobs so that the people in North Sumatra prosper.

"As directed by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, that this industrial area must be developed immediately, it is not oriented towards property companies, but how this industrial area becomes an industrial area that can be used for investment", said SOE Minister, Erick Thohir in an official statement, quoted from Antara, Thursday, July 1.

Erick Thohir said that the management of the SEZ Sei Mangkei can explore the wealth of natural resources there so that it can be an affordable investment for the surrounding community.

He also asked PT Perkebunan Nusantara III which manages the Sei Mangkei SEZ to make the lands around the area a cheap investment to build factories in the area.

"North Sumatra has long been known for its natural resources, for that now we need to do downstream. I also saw several factories in the Sei Mangkei SEZ that could boost the economy and create jobs", he said.

Erick hopes that SEI Mangkei SEZ can compete with SEZs in other areas, and even synergize. For this reason, the management of SEZ Sei Mangkei was asked to learn from the Batang Industrial Estate (KIB) which has succeeded in collaborating with many investors in a short time.

SEZ Sei Mangkei covering an area of 1,933.8 hectares consists of the downstream palm oil industry, downstream rubber industry, and various other industries. SEZ Sei Mangkei is the first in Indonesia which was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on January 27, 2015.

Several leading companies, both foreign and domestic, have invested in SEZ Sei Mangkei, including PT Unilever Oleochemical Indonesia, PT Industri Nabati Lestasi, PT Delamere Estates Indonesia, PT All Cosmos Biotek, and PT Aice Sumatera Industry. In addition, there are investors in the provision of supporting infrastructure, including PT PLN, PT Pertamina Power Indonesia, and PT Pertamina Gas.

Several investors who are in the process of exploring cooperation to develop a factory in the Sei Mangkei SEZ include PT Unilever Oleochemical Indonesia which will expand its factory on an additional 9 hectares of land and new investors namely PT KKB SMET, Alliance, PT NHL, and several investors from India, Korea, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, and the UK who are expected to start their investments soon.