Gresik SEZ Investment Realization Reaches IDR 50 Trillion, 80 Percent of Business Actors

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JAKARTA -  Total investment realization in the Gresik Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in East Java reached more than IDR 50 trillion in the third quarter of 2023.

Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs as Acting Secretary General of the SEZ National Council, Susiwijono Moegiarso said, as of Quarter III-2023, the total investment realization of the Gresik SEZ reached more than IDR 50 trillion.

"More than 80 percent of the investment is from business actors and the rest is investment in regional development by PT BKMS as the Gresik SEZ Development and Management Business Entity," said Susiwijono, as quoted by Antara, Friday, October 13.

Currently, SEZ Gresik has again received a foreign investment commitment or Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from PT Ambercycle Advanced Material Indonesia with an investment plan of 130 million US dollars.

Meanwhile, the Singhasari SEZ, apart from being focused on being a world-class education center and being the heart of the creative and digital economy, is also the first Digital SEZ concept in Indonesia.

Susiwijono detailed that, along with the development of the Singhasari SEZ, which is a pioneer of SEZs with the theme of educational services, it has received 5 letters of interest from universities in the United Kingdom (UK), one of which is King's College London (KCL) in 2021.

Supported by The British Council, SEZ Singhasari and KCL have held a joint study regarding the establishment of a digital-themed campus at SEZ Singhasari in 2022.

Throughout 2022, there have been intensive discussions and a number of visits from KCL and SEZ Singhasari, including the Indonesian Government through the SEZ National Council and the British Government with several ministers and the British PM's special envoy for education.

Furthermore, Susiwijono also said that KCL had verbally conveyed its commitment and request for facilitation to the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto in February 2023. Then this was followed up by submitting a proposal which is currently being discussed with the ministry of education and a number of related ministries/institutions.

"It is planned that in October 2023, KCL will hold a UK Trans National Education Symposium in Singhasari to present the results of studies and discussions with the Indonesian Government, which will be followed by Contract Signing (MoA). KCL Indonesia's own learning activities are targeted to start in September 2024," he said.

The existence of SEZ Singhasari, continued Susiwijono, is expected to support regional thematic development and the revival of human resource development to catalyze a climate of competition between educational institutions. Apart from that, it is also hoped that the inclusion of KCL will encourage other leading universities to contribute to the provision of education in Indonesia.

"In addition to saving foreign exchange on education spending abroad, it is hoped that the entry of KCL will also bring with it a science and technology repository and have the potential to become a thematic research partner that can strengthen the fundamentals of strategic sectors in Indonesia such as the digital economy, nursing, and renewable energy," explained Susiwijono.

The government is committed to continuing to implement policy transformation in SEZ to encourage increased FDI. Apart from creating new sources of economic growth in the regions, SEZ is also expected to support equitable development throughout the region through FDI.

"We really rely on this SEZ, which is called a special area. The main goal is actually to create new sources of economic growth and encourage an inclusive economy. The name is inclusive, which is evenly distributed throughout Indonesia," he concluded.

The government also continues to monitor and evaluate the development of SEZs to ensure that SEZs can operate optimally and provide greater benefits for the community.