Nineteen operating Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in Indonesia have attracted a combined investment of 64.4 trillion rupiah (4.53 billion USD) and provided jobs for 23,000 workers, according to Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto.
Hartarto was quoted by Antara news agency at the groundbreaking of PT Freeport Indonesia's smelter at Gresik SEZ, East Java, on October 12 as saying that 150 companies in the SEZs have earned 3.8 trillion rupiah from exports since the beginning of the year.
Established on June 28, 2021, the 2,167-hectare Gresik SEZ is expected to absorb an investment of 71 trillion rupiah in the first five years of its operation, the minister said.
The Gresik SEZ includes companies from the metal (smelter), electronics, chemical, energy and logistics industries, he added.
He said that the Indonesian Government will continue to support the expansion of the Gresik SEZ.
In order to promote the development of the SEZs, Indonesia has recently issued a decree which sets a target of attracting over 50 billion USD of investment in the zones in the next decade./.