The Indonesian Express
Deputy Minister of Industry (Wamenperin) Faisol Riza stated that by strengthening the competitiveness of domestic industrial areas, it will directly accelerate economic growth of 8 percent according to President Prabowo's Astacita. In Jakarta, Thursday, he said that this is because the non-oil and gas processing industry sector (manufacturing) remains the backbone of the Indonesian economy. In 2024, for example, manufacturing will still be the largest contributor to national GDP, namely 17.16 percent with a growth rate of 4.75 percent, and provide the highest tax revenues of up to 25.84 percent. Therefore, by strengthening the competitiveness of industrial areas, according to him, it can increase the contribution of domestic manufacturing to the GDP ratio, thereby helping to get Indonesia out of the middle income trap. "Currently, we have 168 industrial areas operating. We need to ensure that competitiveness and investment continue to increase in order to achieve the target of 8 percent economic growth in 2029," he said. Director General of Resilience, Regionalization, and International Industrial Access (KPAII) of the Ministry of Industry, Tri Supondy stated that his party has prepared a strategic policy to strengthen the competitiveness of industrial areas. As in the 2025-2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN), the strategy will meet the increase in the GDP value of the non-oil and gas processing industry in 2029 to reach 8.59 percent. "In the next five years, industrial areas will become new growth centers integrated with priority industries based on downstreaming and high technology," he said. Meanwhile, the General Chairperson of the Industrial Area Association (HKI) Sanny Iskandar stated that in order to accelerate the realization of competitive industrial areas, a strong partnership is needed between the government, manufacturing entrepreneurs, and the financial sector. He said that industrial areas as homes for manufacturing industries require legal certainty in the form of regulatory and bureaucratic reform, infrastructure development in the region, policies that support skilled workers through vocational education in industrial areas, industrial security and order that affect the investment climate, as well as fiscal incentives and non-fiscal incentives.