'Bangka-Belitung has great potential'<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The development program in Bangka-Belitung province should be
\noriented to the empowerment of small-scale enterprises and the
\nimprovement of human resources to enable it to catch up with
\nother provinces, says an expert.<\/p>\n
Laurence A. Manullang, a professor at the IBEK Institute of
\nEconomy and Business (STIE IBEK), said the new province had great
\npotential in the economic sector but it was running out of
\nprofessionals to explore its natural resources.<\/p>\n
\"Bangka-Belitung is rich not only in tin, but also
\nagricultural and marine products, sand and granite. It has also
\nhundreds of small islets with beautiful coastal areas that have
\nyet to be developed for tourism,\" he said in a discussion on the
\nprovince's potential here on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The 4,800-square kilometer new province, which was separated
\nfrom its mother province, South Sumatra, on Nov. 21, 2000, has
\ntourism potential because it has a strategic position on the
\nMalacca Strait and borders Singapore and Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines, Japan and South Korea.<\/p>\n
So far, the government has exploited the tin deposits and
\ndeveloped a (white) pepper agribusiness but has yet to touch the
\nfisheries, granite, tourism and sand sectors.<\/p>\n
Besides, the province's waters are also home to more than 700
\nships loaded with antiques, which sank hundreds of years ago.
\n\"This will attract foreign antiques hunters to the province,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Manullang, who recently conducted a survey in the province,
\nsaid that the provincial administration should give top priority
\nto the education sector because almost 80 percent of the
\napproximately 900,000 population were either graduates or
\ndropouts from elementary or junior high school.<\/p>\n
According to him, besides building more vocational and high
\nschools, the provincial administration should establish many
\ntraining centers in numerous programs to help improve the quality
\nof human resources.<\/p>\n
\"Most people earn their living from fishing but they are still
\nusing traditional technology so that they can't improve their
\ndaily or monthly income,\" he said, citing that the per capita
\nincome had reached only US$160 (Rp 1.6 million) per year.<\/p>\n
Fishermen, who constitute two-thirds of the population, should
\nbe given a credit scheme to enable them to buy modern fishing
\ntechnology and explore the province's maritime resources, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The province's waters are rich with numerous kinds of fish
\nthat are not found in other provinces and the province can be
\nexploited for its export commodities, besides tin and white
\npepper,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Manullang said STIE IBEK, which has a new campus in the
\nprovincial capital of Pangkal Pinang, had launched a research and
\ndevelopment program to help develop agribusiness and tourism
\nwithin the province.<\/p>\n
\"The research and development program has met with a positive
\nresponse from people in the province because they can learn new
\nskills and hence increase their income,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bangka-belitung-has-great-potential-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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