Kuala Lumpur, (ANTARA News) - Malaysian Religious Affairs Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysia`s Hajj Saving Institution was seeking 200,000 hectares of land for oil palm plantations in Kalimantan. "Tabung Haji Plantation (THP) which handles hajj savings in the plantation sector is now looking for 200,000 hectares of land in Kalimantan for its palm oil plantation business," the minister said when attending the launch of the Ade Nasution Center here on Sunday.

Mustaqim Adamrah and Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government and businesses seem to have agreed on one solution that could mitigate the impact of the global slowdown while also creating millions of new jobs -- to accelerate government-led infrastructure projects.

The Jakarta Post | Sat, 01/03/2009 5:17 PM | Business Vice Presiden Jusuf Kalla said Saturday that the government would expand and revitalize the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denspasar, Bali, and that the construction would begin in April. Kalla said the cost estimation for the construction could reach up to Rp 1.2 trillion. “The construction should start in April as the tendering process would take about three months.

Commuters from Depok commuting to Jakarta will have to wait to enjoy driving down the planned widened 21.7 kilometer Depok-Antasari turnpike as the developer has said it is in difficulty financing the new express lane due to a huge increase in costs. The culprit is skyrocketing land prices, estimated to have risen from Rp 2.4 trillion (US$212.8 million) to Rp 4.5 trillion.

Java and Bali will receive an additional 1,535 megawatts (MW) of power supply this year, although the increased capacity would still not still reach an ideal level, state power firm PT PLN said over the weekend. PLN's director for the Java and Bali region, Murtaqi Syamsuddin, said PLN's system in the area would receive more power from three new power plants and two upgraded power plants.

With shrinking demand from the main buyers of Indonesia’s exports, such as the United States and the European Union, the country’s food and beverage producers urgently need to diversify their markets, the head of an industry association says. “Our members say that China, India and Russia are among the most promising alternative markets for our food and beverage products this year,” Thomas Darmawan, the chairman of the Indonesian Food and Beverages Association or Gapmi, said on Friday.