China Poised to Enter Madura, Building Factory Complex
The Wiraraja Madura Industrial Estate in Bangkalan, East Java, is entering the preparation stage to attract manufacturing investment from various countries. China is one of the largest sources of investment, with plans to develop an industrial cluster in the area.
This development is part of Indonesia-China cooperation to strengthen a new industrial base in Madura. Previously, the government has encouraged cooperation in developing the Wiraraja Madura Industrial Estate through the Two Countries Twin Parks (TCTP) scheme.
Chairman of the Indonesian Industrial Estates Association (HKI) and President Director of Wiraraja Madura Industrial Estate, Akhmad Ma’ruf Maulana, said the incoming investment does not come from just one company. A number of manufacturing sectors have been prepared to fill the area.
“But it is not only China; it happens that China is the largest. For China, I am bringing in one cluster, one industrial estate cluster,” Ma’ruf told CNBC Indonesia on Tuesday (11/8/2026).
The estate is projected not merely to be a factory location, but also part of a production chain connected to export markets. A number of industries being prepared have quite diverse manufacturing and processing characteristics.
“So the factories include a plastics factory, yarn, mattresses, furniture, then chocolate, food packaging, food, such as fish canning, food, but all of it is for export,” he said.
Cooperation with Chinese investors is an important part of the development. The government previously stated that the industrial estate in Bangkalan is expected to become a new economic growth centre in East Java and complement the heavy industrial estates already developed in the Gresik area.
As a result, the industrial estate will absorb a large workforce. Although he could not yet state how many workers will be absorbed, he estimated it will reach thousands.
Besides China, investment exploration is also being conducted with several other countries. This shows that the estate is not directed to become an industrial area dependent on only one source of capital.
“But it is not only China; I also have several industries coming there, such as from Korea and Japan,” said Ma’ruf.
The development of the estate is still in the early phase before physical construction begins. After the administrative and licensing processes are completed, construction of the industrial estate will commence to accommodate the companies that have been approached.
“So I am the one developing it, I am the industrial estate, I am the one bringing them in, I am the one building the industrial estate, my industrial estate,” Ma’ruf asserted.