Saudi Arabia And UAE Are Ready To Invest In 8 SEZ Regions, Says Uno

JAKARTA - The governments of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia are interested in investing in eight Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and three sustainable tourism destinations in Indonesia.

"Saudi Arabia is very interested in several projects that we will propose as well as the United Arab Emirates," said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, Tuesday, September 28.

Sandiaga said the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy had offered the development of a number of Indonesian tourist areas to the 31 G20 delegates who attended the meeting.

The offer then received a positive response from the tourism ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The development of these tourist areas are five super priority destinations, eight special economic zones (SEZ) and three sustainable tourism destinations.

The five super priority tourist destinations are Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur in Central Java, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, and Likupang in North Sulawesi.

Meanwhile, the eight SEZs are located in Morotai, Singosari, Tanjung Lesung, Likupang, Lido, Nongsa, Tanjung Kelayang, and Mandalika.

Furthermore, Sandiaga said, the investment offered was in the form of infrastructure development such as cable cars and other tourism-supporting sector equipment.

The former Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta said that the total investment that would be obtained by Indonesia if the offer was taken by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia could reach US$ 8 billion and would be completed in the next three years.

Sandiaga said the Nusa Penida Island tourist area, located in Klungkung, Bali, was not offered at the meeting because it was still hampered by infrastructure problems.