News Focus -MANDALIKA TO BE PROMOTED TO PARTICIPANTS OF IMF-WB ANNUAL MEETINGS by Fardah

 Jakarta, March 10, 2018 (Antara) - The 2018 International Monetary Fund-World Bank (IMF-WB) Annual Meetings, one of the biggest and influential events in the fields of finance and economy, will be organized in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Oct 8-14, this year.

         Indonesia will utilize the opportunity of hosting the IMF-WB Annual Meetings in Bali in October 2018 to showcase its economic potential to prospective investors.

         One of its mega development projects awaiting more investors is the Mandalika Special Economic Zone located in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

         The IMF-WB financial gathering is expected to be attended by up to 15 thousand people from 189 countries, and some of them are invited to visit the Mandalika project.

         Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, chairman of the national organizing committee of the IMF-WB meeting, had visited the Mandalika project site in early March 2018 to review the preparations to welcome delegates from various countries.

        The IMF-WB Annual Meetings will promote Indonesia's economic potential at the global level, according to Panjaitan, who was accompanied by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and Governor of Indonesia's Central Bank Agus Martowardojo during a visit to NTB.

         He lauded the progress made in the construction of the Mandalika tourism area project in Kuta, Central Lombok, a year following its inauguration by President Joko Widodo.

         "I think, as compared to a year ago, the progress is amazing now," Minister Pandjaitan remarked.

         The 1,177-hectare large tourism project is expected to be completed in September 2018.

         Qatar is expected to invest on an area spanning 250 hectares in Mandalika.

         Pandjaitan noted that during his courtesy visit to the Qatari Emir, the latter had expressed interest to invest in Mandalika.

         "They had even sent a team to personally see Mandalika," he noted.

         The two ministers and the governor of Bank Indonesia evaluated the preparations to welcome some delegates arriving for the 2018 IMF-WB Annual Meetings scheduled in Bali Province, which is relatively close to NTB, in October this year.  
   "We are ready to welcome the delegations," the minister stated.

       President Director of PT Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation Abdulbar M. Mansoer emphasized that the implementation of the Mandalika tourism development project was on track.

        "Currently, hotels have made a foray. Four hotels have been built and so are the road infrastructure and its landscape," he added.

       Earlier, the Ministry of Tourism had also assessed that Lombok in NTB, which is located relatively close to Bali, is ready to welcome delegates of the IMF-WB Annual Meetings.

        "Lombok is ready to receive the IMF delegations, considering the experience it has gained as a tourist destination," Deputy of Development and Marketing of the Ministry of Tourism I Gede Pitana remarked in Mataram in February 2018.

        The Mandalika Special Economic Zone (KEK) project, worth around US$3 billion, is believed to have a multiplier effect on the economy of NTB to help achieve the government's target of receiving at least 20 million foreign tourists by 2019.        
  President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Oct 19, 2017, officially commissioned the operation of the Mandalika  KEK in Central Lombok District.

        The government has channeled Rp250 billion worth of investment to the ITDC.   Jokowi has pledged that the government would provide additional funds, worth some Rp1.8 trillion next year, to support infrastructure development.

         Acceleration of the development of the Mandalika KEK was supported fully by the Finance Ministry, through the Customs and Excise Directorate General.

          The Finance Ministry's Customs and Excise, in line with the Finance Minister's regulation No104/PMK.010/2016, has been providing facilities to support the development of the Mandalika project, which needs domestic as well foreign investors.

        With the integrated licensing service, the licensing procedure for investment will take only 3 hours.

        Covering a total of 1,175 hectares of clean and clear area, backed up by facilities in licensing and in customs service, the ministry is optimistic that there would be more investors who would be interested in investing in the KEK of Mandalika.

        The Mandalika region has potential and geo-economic and geostrategic advantages. Geo-economic superiority of Mandalika region is to have a marine tourism object which is a white sandy beach with exotic panorama and adjacent to the island of Bali.

       The geostrategic superiority of the Mandalika region is to have a concept of environmentally sound tourism development with the development of solar power plants and located close to Lombok International Airport.

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(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 10-03-2018