Jababeka builds new industrial park
CIKARANG, West Java (JP): PT Kawasan Industri Jababeka, in cooperation with three Singaporean industrial developers, started development yesterday of an industrial park here despite concerns of an uncompleted Environmental Impact Analysis.
The head of the coordinating team for industrial estates at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Kasru Susilo, officiated the groundbreaking ceremony of the 240-hectare Techpark Cikarang.
"The fact that it is a joint-venture development with substantial foreign investment represents a strong vote of trust and confidence in the underlying health of the Indonesian economy," Kasru said.
Techpark Cikarang is a project of PT Gerbang Tehnologi Cikarang, a Jababeka subsidiary, publicly listed industrial estate developer PT Kawasan Industri Jababeka and a Singaporean consortium headed by technology park developer Arcasia Land Pte Ltd.
The consortium's members are Waterbank Properties Pte Ltd and Asia Pacific Investment Company Ltd. As well as being an equity investor, Arcasia is also the project manager and international marketer for the park.
State Minister of Investment Sanyoto Sastrowardoyo was initially scheduled to lead the groundbreaking ceremony. But sources said the minister canceled his trip to Cikarang because the Environmental Impact Analysis was not completed for the project.
But Gerbang Tehnologi Cikarang's director Paulus Supartio said the project did not wait for the analysis by the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal) because as an industrial estate the report was provided by the coordinating team for industrial estates.
Jababeka's president Sofyan Ismail said the park's total investment, including the building of standard factories, would cost about US$225 million.
He said the park, adjacent to the Cikarang Industrial Estate, targeted only high-tech manufacturing companies.
The targeted industries include electronics, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and automation and precision engineering.
The park will be completed with private power and water supplies, waste water treatment and advanced telecommunications links.
Jababeka was established in 1989 to develop the Cikarang Industrial Estate and Cikarang Baru Kota Hijau residential township. It was then listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges in December 1994.
The company recorded a net profit of Rp 101 billion (US$28.37 million) during the first half of this year, a 56 percent increase over the same period last year.
The company's vice president Iwan P. Brasali said the rupiah's depreciation had increased the company's profit as most sales were in U.S. dollars. (08)