No Islands For Sale In Gorontalo: Official

Gorontalo, Sept 2 (Antara) - North Gorontalo local government has confirmed that there are no islands for sale following rumors of the sellout of Saronde Island and 51 other islands in the area, stated an official. "There is no island either sold or leased," North Gorontalo Tourism and Cultural Office Chief Frits Ano noted here on Tuesday. The rumors went viral after an advertorial about the Saronde, Bugisa, and Mihinggito Islands was published on a website. Frits remarked that three of the totals 52 islands in the area have been part of a 30-year cooperation agreement with investors, while the other three Islands of Raja, Popaya, and Mas are protected areas and will not be developed as tourism sites. The local government is open to investors to develop the islands as tourism destinations by applying the profit sharing system to generate local revenue for the tourism sector. "So, there are no islands for sale or lease because the cooperation agreement for developing the islands to become local tourist attractions has a certain deadline," Frits explained. Frits affirmed that the three islands of Saronde, Bugisa and Mohinggito are managed by PT Gorontalo Alam Bahari, where the local government will have a share in the revenues after two years of becoming operational. With regard to the advertorial published by a foreign website that sells or rents several islands on the Gorontalo waters, Frits stressed that it should not be a matter of concern. "Let us just say that the North Gorontalo government received free publicity help from the website manager," Frits noted. He asserted that the district government also continues to intensify its efforts to protect the entire island in the region through relevant joint security forces of the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) and the National Police`s Water and Air Police section (Polairud) based in Gorontalo.