BGN Ensures Completion of Payments for 3T Kitchens to Enable Prompt Operations

Batam (ANTARA) - The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has assured the completion of payments for the construction of kitchens under the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme in the underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions of Riau Islands to enable their prompt operation. “We are in the process of finalising. For the buildings in remote areas, we have already recorded them, some have been paid, and the rest will be settled,” said Deputy Head of BGN for Operational Nutrition Fulfilment, Sony Sonjaya, during the MBG Programme Consolidation Meeting in Batam on Thursday. He stated that they are aware of 3T kitchens in Kepri that have completed construction but are not yet operational due to lack of central funding. Sony mentioned that they will hold a follow-up meeting in Jakarta on 7 April 2026 to finalise the payment process. Sony added that after the first phase is complete, BGN will conduct further data collection for the development of MBG kitchens in other small regions. “We will map again which areas are not yet covered, how many kitchens are needed, and the number of beneficiaries. This will be coordinated with task forces at the provincial and district/city levels,” he said. In the first phase, there are 130 SPPG kitchens built in the 3T regions of Riau Islands. Meanwhile, Riau Islands Deputy Governor Nyanyang Haris Pratamura stated that the local government continues to strive to expand the MBG programme’s reach to the outermost islands. “We are coordinating with district/city task forces to accelerate construction in 3T regions. This is already underway and we continue to push it,” she said. She emphasised that one of the local government’s main focuses is to maintain the stability of food supplies to support MBG kitchen operations, especially in island regions. “We ensure supplies from Batam, Bintan, to Karimun remain stable. Coordination continues to prevent disruptions in food distribution,” she said. Additionally, she mentioned that the provincial government is also partnering with various parties, including relevant agencies and local task forces, to accelerate logistics distribution to hard-to-reach areas.