Waste land turns productive

Waste land turns productive

BANDA ACEH: Approximately 175,000 hectares of unproductive farm land in the Aceh Besar and Piddie regencies will be turned into timber estates to maintain forest conservation, Governor Syamsuddin Mahmud said.

"The establishment of the two timber estates is meant to rehabilitate unproductive land," Mahmud told the provincial legislative meeting on Tuesday.

The estate and pulp industry project will be managed by a joint-venture company, PT Indonusa Indrapuri, and is expected to increase private investments in the province in a bid to maintain the rate of the provincial economic growth at six to seven percent per year within the sixth five-year term of the development program (Pelita).

Mahmud said the timber project should be able to add a more economic value to the land and provide revenue for the local administration and social benefit to the nearby residents, Antara reported. (kod)