Investment in Irian Jaya

Investment in Irian Jaya

For the last three years the government has intensively done its utmost to utilize the natural resources of the eastern part of Indonesia (IBT). The private sector has been called upon to invest capital in this area.

As a businessman, I fully appreciate this government ideal, more so because the natural resources there are promising. So three years ago, after careful consideration, I decided to invest my money in Irian Jaya. My decision was based on the fact that the government established flights between Los Angeles and Irian Jaya. I believed transportation problems were out of the question.

Hotels were built to cope with tourism needs, and some mining locations were opened. So the possibility of discontinuing the Los Angeles-Irian Jaya flights was unimaginable.

My line of business there concerns decorative fish, which abound in that area. This business was promising because competition was virtually non-existent. I poured Rp 900 million into this venture. But imagine my consternation when, after three years had passed, Garuda Indonesia terminated their Los Angeles- Irian Jaya route. The only rationale of this termination was: Garuda was suffering losses. Many other companies have suffered losses of billions of rupiah as a result of the flight closure.

Don't the officials concerned think of the negative effect the policy has on existing companies? I did my best to sort out every problem I encountered once I decided to invest there. If not for my strong patriotism, I would have done otherwise. Then I had to encounter such problems as incomprehensible bureaucracy, lack of support from the local government, etc.

It is indeed a tragedy for all businessmen who have invested their money in Irian Jaya. Would a seminar be necessary to find out the best solution to the problem? How would companies settle their bank interest, which continues to haunt them?

MUCHTAR

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