SOE Minister Erick Thohir: SEZ Sei Mangkei Must Promote the National Economy and Welfare of The North Sumatra People

JAKARTA: Erick Thohir hopes that the Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in North Sumatra will be able to invite investors to invest and boost the economy and create jobs. It is hoped that industrial area should be developed immediately, not only oriented to property companies but to become an industrial area that can compete with SEZs in other areas and benefit the surrounding community.

"As directed by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, that this industrial area must be developed immediately, it is not oriented to property companies, but how can this industrial area become an industrial area that can be used for investment by partners so that this industrial area can be developed quickly," said Erick during a visit to Sei Mangkei SEZ, North Sumatra Province, Friday (25/6). During the visit, SOE Minister Erick Thohir along with the Deputy Governor of North Sumatra Musa Rajekshah was accompanied by the President Director of PTPN III (Persero) Nusantara Plantation Holding Muhammad Abdul Ghani.

The Sei Mangkei SEZ is the first SEZ in Indonesia which was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on January 27, 2015. The Sei Mangkei SEZ is located in North Sumatra Province and has main activities in the form of palm oil processing, rubber processing, tourism and logistics.

Erick added that the manager of the Sei Mangkei SEZ can actually explore the wealth of natural resources in the North Sumatra region and around the area so that it can be an affordable investment for the surrounding community. Therefore, the existence of the Sei Mangkei SEZ will be beneficial for the people of North Sumatra to improve the economy and create job opportunities.

Erick said that he had asked PTPN III, which manages the Sei Mangkei SEZ, to make the land around the area a cheap investment for entrepreneurs who want to build factories in the area.

"North Sumatra has known for natural resources, now we need to do downstreaming, I also saw several factories in the SEI Mangkei SEZ, which can improve the economy and create jobs. This has led to an increase in the welfare of the community around the Sei Mangkei SEZ,” said Erick.

Erick hopes that SEZ Sei Mangkei can compete positively with SEZ in other regions, and even synergize in improving and supporting the national economy. The management of SEZ Sei Mangkei should learn from the Batang Industrial Estate (KIB) which has succeeded in collaborating with many investors in a short time.

SEZ Sei Mangkei covering an area of 1933.8 hectares consists of downstream palm oil industry, downstream rubber industry, and various other industries. The focus of industrial zone development in SEZ Sei Mangkei is downstreaming of oil palm and rubber commodities.

The concept of energy development in the Sei Mangkei SEZ prioritizes renewable energy, which makes the development of the Sei Mangkei SEZ in the Green Economic Zone. The Ministry of Industry has built facilities, namely dry ports, tank farms and innovation centers. As for the distribution of electricity supply, gas, and telecommunications networks to support investment activities in the Sei Mangkei SEZ, PT Perkebunan Nusantara III cooperates with PLN, Pertagas and Telkomsel. Meanwhile, the management of clean water and waste water is a facility that has been prepared and built by PT Perkebunan Nusantara III.

PTPN III (Persero) has collaborated with strategic partners to develop power plants from new renewable energy sources, including: Biogas Power Plant (PLTBg) with a capacity of 2 MW from the utilization of palm oil effluent (POME), and Solar Power Plant (POME). PLTS) with a capacity of 2 MW. This program supports the government's efforts to optimize the national renewable energy potential and attracts investors to invest in SEZ Sei Mangkei.

In addition to PLTS and PLTBg, currently there are several potential strategic partners who are ready to cooperate with PTPN Group in developing Bio-Compressed Natural Gas (Bio-CNG) from POME to be supplied to tenants in SEI Mangkei SEZ and there are potential investors who will invest in the development. Biomass Power Plant (PLTBm) with a capacity of 1 x 15 MW and the operation of a PLTBm with a capacity of 2 x 3.5 MW.

A number of leading companies, both foreign and domestic, have invested in SEZ Sei Mangkei, namely PT Unilever Oleochemical Indonesia, PT Industri Nabati Lestasi, PT Delamere Estates Indonesia, PT All Cosmos Biotek, and PT Aice Sumatera Industry. In addition, there are also investors in the provision of supporting infrastructure, including PT PLN, PT Pertamina Power Indonesia, and PT Pertamina Gas. Several investors who are in the process of exploring cooperation to develop a factory in Sei Mangkei include PT Unilever Oleochemical Indonesia which will expand its factory on an additional 9 ha of land and new investors namely PT KKB SMET, Alliance, PT NHL and several investors from India, Korea, Malaysia, China, Taiwan and the UK are expected to start investing in SEZ Sei Mangkei in the future.