NATIONAL AND FOREIGN INVESTORS HELP TO OPEN OIL-PALM PLANTATIONS IN PAPUA

Jayapura - National and foreign investors are ready to help local entrepreneurs in Papua to develop idle land in the province  into productive palm oil plantations and to set up a plant to process palm oil fruit into biodiesel, a local Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) executive said.

Jakarta-based companies like Sinar Mas, the Rajawali Group and the Medco Group as well as investors from Australia, China, New Zealand, South Korea, and Papua New Guinea were ready to team up with local entrepreneurs to utilize one million hectares of idle land in Papua, Jhon Kabey, chairman of Kadin’s Papua chapter said in Jayapura on Friday (25/05).

"The year 2007 is the investment year for Indonesia's easternmost province. Therefore, Kadin Papua and the Papua provincial administration have already set up an investment forum and an investment desk to speed up the investment project," he said.

Kadin Papua would use 500 ha of the proposed 1,000 ha of land in the southern part of Papua like Merauke, Sarmi and Keeron to open oil palm plantations, he said. Kabey expressed hope the opening of palm oil plantations would create jobs for the local people, improve the people's welfare and increase regional income.

The investment program, he said, would not disturb the local people's rights over their land as they would be given concessions to manage 12 hectares out of the proposed 1,000-ha oil palm plantation area (Antara, 26/05/07).

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