Govt to curb expansion of industrial estates

JAKARTA (JP): The government will curb the expansion of industrial estates in Java and introduce fiscal and monetary incentives to encourage investors to expand businesses to less developed provinces in the country, a minister says.

"The planned policy, intended to help foster economic growth in less developed provinces, is now being formulated based on sectorial and regional development targets in the coming five years," State Minister of National Development Planning/Chairman of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Ginandjar Kartasasmita said yesterday.

Speaking at a four-day 12th National Development Consultancy Forum, Ginandjar said that Bappenas has asked the Ministry of Industry and the office of the Minister of Investment to curb industrial expansion in agriculturally productive areas in Java.

"It means that the expansion of industrial estates will be only allowed for those who are prepared to use barren land," Ginandjar told the forum which was attended by officials of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Trade and Industry, all the country's governors and officials of the provincial offices of development planning (Bappeda).

Promotion

He said that both the Ministry of Industry and the Investment Coordinating Board have been actively promoting business expansion to less developed areas, particularly the eastern provinces, to enable them to catch up with the economic growth of Java and other western provinces.

"For that purpose, the government is now considering introducing various fiscal and monetary incentives to encourage investors to do business in less developed provinces," he said.

Ginandjar said priority of business and industrial development in the less developed areas has become one of the government's priorities in the current Sixth Five Year Development Plan (Repelita VI) period.

"During the Repelita VI period, we have set up three goals of economic development based on regional and sectorial targets," he said.

To make it easy to evaluate, Bappenas is now formulating objectives of the three targets based on one-year operations, he added. (fhp)