NORTH KALIMANTAN, YOUNGEST PROVINCE AIMING FOR INVESTMENT by Fardah

Jakarta, Aug 10 , 2017(Antara) - North Kalimantan (Kaltara), the Indonesia's 34th province, is located in the northern part of Kalimantan Island and was separated from East Kalimantan Province in 2012.

        The country's youngest province shares its border with the Malaysian states of Sabah and Serawak in its north and west; the Makassar Strait and the Sulawesi Sea in the east; and East Kalimantan in the south.

         Thanks to its strategic location, North Kalimantan is expected to be  a gateway to Malaysia, the southern Philippines and Brunei Darussalam.

        In the past, it's remote villages located along the border were almost untouched by development because of the great distance from the center of the East Kalimantan provincial administration in Samarinda.

        At present, the development of projects has been accelerated in Kaltara to catch up with other provinces.

        To carry out development, the province needs foreign and domestic investment in the infrastructure sector, in particular.

        Some 14 foreign diplomats visited North Kalimantan recently at the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry's initiative to evaluate and obtain first-hand information on the tourism and economic potential of Indonesia's youngest province having abundant natural resources.

        Foreign envoys from Oman, Serbia, Egypt, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Croatia, Venezuela, Bosnia Herzegovina, Laos, Sweden, Romania, India, Nigeria, and Ukraine were personally received by  Kaltara Governor Irianto Lambrie, who first briefed them on the history of the province formed five years ago.

        The governor invited the foreign countries to invest in his region, which has been gearing up for massive development by constructing a nine thousand-megawatt hydropower plant in the Kayan River area, an industrial zone, and an international seaport in Bulungan District.

        The governor, who has received an award from the State Administration Agency for his strong commitment to bringing about innovation in state administration, believes that investment and intensified exports can help to boost economic growth.

        The potential and opportunities are huge, as the province's population is less than one million, while its land area is vast.

        It has abundant natural resources, especially in terms of various forms of renewable energy, such as geothermal, hydro, solar, and biomass.

        Kaltara has abundant coal deposits, in addition to palm oil, rubber, cocoa, coffee,   sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, corn, and paddy plantations.

        The provincial administration has acquired 190 thousand hectares of land area, mostly in forests, for other economic purposes, including for conducting farming and plantation activities.

        North Kalimantan has planned to establish an Industrial Estate Management Board to manage the Industrial Estate and International Port of Mangkupadi in Bulungan District in the near future.

        The establishment of the board is a follow-up of the Ministry of Industry's directives.

        In fact, the Indonesian government has set aside Rp3.17 trillion in funds to develop several facilities and infrastructure in North Kalimantan in 2018.

        The allocation of funds more than doubled from Rp1.3 trillion in the previous year.

        In total, budget allocation for the development of border areas in 2018 increased significantly to Rp28.5 trillion, from Rp19.5 trillion a year earlier.

        Budget funds will be allocated to the province through the Public Works and People's Housing Ministry, Transportation Ministry, Defense Ministry, and Home Affairs Ministry.

        Budget funds set aside through the Public Works and People's Housing Ministry has reached Rp1.27 trillion, which will be utilized to build a 127.50-kilometer-long parallel road in the Indonesia-Malaysia border, with a budget allocation of Rp1.14 trillion, and hundreds of livable low-cost houses in Nunukan District and tens of low-cost houses in Malinau District, with funds worth Rp130 billion.

        The budget fund allocated through the Transportation Ministry has reached Rp150.3 billion, which will be used to improve Malinau Airport, with funds worth Rp41.7 billion and Rp99.6 billion to improve Nunukan Airport.

        The central government is paying serious attention to the development in Kaltara.

        During a meeting with Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto had recently confirmed the central government's complete support.

       Coordination has been made among various institutions, ministries, and agencies, including with Bank Indonesia and the Investment Coordinating Board, to support Kaltara's development, according to the industry minister.

        Meanwhile, Minister Pandjaitan is optimistic that the development in North Kalimantan will make the province an economic hub.

         "We see that development in Kaltara will take about 1.5 years and I am sure it will happen, because Indonesia's decision-making process is transparent, and so the investors will be happy and the development can be completed quickly," the coordinating minister said.

        As part of a sea toll program serving the route connecting Tanjung Selor, the capital of North Kalimantan, with Surabaya, East Java Province,  North Kalimantan will begin the construction of the Pesawan Seaport in Bulungan District in 2018.

         The seaport will have a 450-meter-long dock capable of accommodating at least four ships at once. To be located in an area measuring 60 hectares, the seaport will better facilitate the loading and unloading of goods.

       Supporting facilities, such as warehouses, passenger terminal, and custom and excise offices, will also be built surrounding the seaport area.

         As for exports, the province has enjoyed a surplus worth US$421.74 million (Rp5.6 trillion) in its international trade during the January-June 2017 period.

        It exported coal worth US$344.53 million) during the first semester of this year, an increase from US$280.22 million from that of the same period in the previous year, M. Habibullah, head of the East Kalimantan statistics office, said recently.

        Kaltara also exported timber and processed timber products amounting to US$28.01 million, down 20.17 percent from US$35.09 million during last year's same period.

         Its animal fat and vegetable oil exports reached US$14.32 million, and organic chemical substance exports at US$30.32 million.

         Among countries of destination of the province's exports were India (US$142.8 million), Japan (US$77.55 million), Malaysia (US$47.71 million), South Korea (US$36.22 million), the Philippines (US$36.06 million), and China (US$26.23 million).   
   Exports of a number of commodities from North Kalimantan  grew 3.33 percent  to US$66.84 million  in June 2017  from US$64.68 million in the previous month.

        North Kalimantan only imported oil and gas worth US$41 million and non-oil and gas products amounting US$10.74 million from Malaysia, that shares border with the province.      ***3***
(f001/INE/O001)
EDITED BY INE

(T.F001/A/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 10-08-2017