BKPM, Ministry Encourage Expansion Of Shipbuilding Industry

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and the Ministry of Commerce are cooperating to encourage the development of the shipbuilding industry in Indonesia, according to BKPM Chief Franky Sibarani.

"The development of a shipbuilding industry is meant to follow up the instruction of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) when he visited one of the shipyard businesses in Batam recently," Sibarani said in a statement here on Saturday.

He remarked that President Jokowi's instruction resulted in a meeting on Friday, which was attended by the BKPM chief, Industry Minister Saleh Husin, and Indonesian shipbuilding industry stakeholders.

"BKPM will not just try to invite investment in shipyards, but also investments in shipyard components," Sibarani remarked.

According to Sibarani, the meeting on Friday was also attended by those with a need for ships, including the military, police, upstream oil and gas regulator (SKK Migas), National Search and Rescue Agency,  Maritime Security Agency, PT Pertamina, and PT Garam.

It was revealed in the meeting that as of 2016, Indonesian will need more than one hundred ships, and it was noted that the domestic demand for ships remains very high.

"Therefore, it should be supported by the availability of ships provided by the domestic shipbuilding industry in order to drive the wheel of the economy," he noted.

In the meantime, Industry Minister Saleh Husin said that, currently, there are only 250 shipbuilding companies in Batam and Java islands.

For that, the minister said there should be incentives in the shipbuilding industry to encourage the growth of investment in this field.

"It is currently being coordinated by the Ministry of Finance to address the issue," the industry minister said.

He further explained that he would set up a government regulation to provide incentives for the shipbuilding industry, in particular those located outside the area of Batam. (WDY)