KIM to expand estate

JAKARTA (JP): PT Kawasan Industri Medan (KIM) will invest Rp 83 billion (US$34.6 million) in expanding its industrial estate in Medan, North Sumatra, by 314 hectares next month, according to the company's president Papo Hermawan.

He said Sunday that the extended area, which would accommodate up to 200 factories, was expected to be ready for developers by the end of this year.

The company's existing industrial estate, developed on a 200- hectare site to accommodate 90 factories, had almost been sold out, he was quoted by Antara as saying in Medan.

Hermawan said his company would spend Rp 50 billion acquiring land owned by PT Perkebunan Nusantara I, a state-owned plantation company, and Rp 33 billion establishing infrastructure, including roads, telephone lines, electricity, water and gas supplies, wastewater treatment, clinics, office buildings, housing, a hotel, parks and shopping centers.

He said that four foreign companies and four domestic companies had signed contracts to buy sites at the extended area.

The industrial estate will become the largest of its kind in Indonesia outside Java after the expansion. (10)