RI-Malaysia joint venture invests in Medan

JAKARTA (JP): Malaysia's Tiara Etika Development Sdn. Bhd. has signed a memorandum of understanding with PT Kawasan Industri Medan, a company owned by the North Sumatra administration, for a joint venture to build five projects.

The memorandum of understanding was signed Friday in Medan by Tiara Etika Development's executive chairman, Dato Zainal Abidin and PT Kawasan Industri Medan's president director, Popo Herwaman, Kompas daily reported.

Popo said the joint venture, PT Kimtechno, will be 20 percent owned PT Kawasan Industri Medan and 80 percent by the Malaysian firm.

The joint venture will invest 700 million Malaysian ringgits to build the five projects in Medan industrial estates, which are owned by PT Kawasan Industri Medan.

The five projects include an office building, a hotel, housing, shopping center and a sports and recreational center.

Zainal said the office building project would be the first to be developed, starting next year.

Both Popo and Zainal are optimistic about their joint projects, in view of the rapid progress of the Medan industrial estates.

Popo said the 190 hectares of industrial lots in the estates had been bought by investors, and his company had acquired an additional 314 hectares of land nearby as an extension of the estates.

He said the joint-venture company would develop its five projects in the extension area.

Popo added that PT Kawasan Industri Medan was developing the estates into a one-stop service center for industrial investors. (jsk)