BKPM to Attract Investment Worth Rp27.8 Trillion In Sulawesi

Manado, N Sulawesi, May 21 (Antara) - The Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has set a target to attract investment worth Rp27.8 trillion in Sulawesi in 2015, a BKPM official stated. "The BKPM is optimistic that it will achieve the target because the investment opportunities in Sulawesi are still big," Deputy for Promotion Affairs of the BKPM Himawan Hariyoga affirmed here on Thursday. In order to attract investment, the government has begun realizing various supporting infrastructure projects. The government is targeting to develop 15 airports to support the country's logistics development. Among the 15 airports are Miangas, Pohuwanto, Tojo Una-Una, and Buntu Kunik in Sulawesi; Muara Teweh and Maratua in Kalimantan; and Namniwel in Maluku. Besides this, the government is also planning to develop or expand 24 seaports to support its sea toll development program to facilitate the movement of cargo, which is estimated to reach 30 million TEUs in 2020. He revealed that it included the expansion of seaports of Bitung and Makassar in Sulawesi; Pontianak, Palangkaraya, Banjarmasin, and Maloy in Kalimantan; Ambon in Maluku; and Hamahera in North Maluku. In a bid to increase and equitably distribute information accessibility, President Joko Widodo inaugurated the Sulawesi Maluku Papua Cable System (SMPCS) fiber optics backbone project on May 10, 2015. Hariyoga noted that the BKPM has projected an investment realization of Rp519.5 trillion across the country in 2015. The investment target in Sulawesi is Rp27.8 trillion, Kalimantan Rp74.5 trillion, and Maluku Rp7.2 trillion. To meet the energy needs and to accelerate investment, the government is planning to build hydropower plants, with a combined capacity of 3,967 megawatts (MW) in North and Central Sulawesi and 6,340 MW in South and Southeast Sulawesi. Similar power plants will also be built, with a combined capacity of 16,844 MW in South, Central, and East Kalimantan; 4,737 MW in West Kalimantan; and 430 MW in Maluku. The infrastructure projects are expected to facilitate investors' needs with regard to logistics, information connectivity, and energy.