On June 14, 2020, I came here (to Batang District) under the directive of the president (Joko Widodo) to find an industrial relocation area to anticipate the (impacts of the) trade war between China and America at the time.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Investment Minister/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia has announced that the area of the first phase of development of Batang Integrated Industrial Estate (KIT) in Central Java Province has been sold out.

At the inauguration of the Second Phase Development of LG Consortium’s Integrated Electric Battery Industry at the Batang KIT monitored online here on Wednesday, he said that currently the second phase development of the KIT -- covering an area of 1,000 hectares -- has been begun to be carried out.

“On June 14, 2020, I came here under the directive of the president to find an industrial relocation area to anticipate the trade war between China and America at the time,” he remarked.

Furthermore, on June 30, 2020, the president carried out the first groundbreaking of the industrial estate.

"All of the 450-hectare land of the first (development) phase have been sold out due to the close collaboration between Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry, Investment Ministry, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry, as well as the Central Java Provincial Government," the minister said.

He has expected that good collaboration can be maintained, thus the realization of investments in the future can run well.

Related news: Batang Industrial Estate to bolster state revenue: President Jokowi

There are already several companies which are interested in the second phase development of the KIT, in addition to the LG Consortium, including Foxconn, he said.

The LG Consortium’s integrated electric battery factory in the Batang KIT would be developed on a 275-hectare plot of land with an investment of Rp142 trillion (US$9.76 billion).

It was a follow-up of the battery cell facility groundbreaking, worth Rp15.98 trillion (US$1.1 billion) in Karawang District, West Java Province, in September 2021.

The construction of the factories is a part of an integrated electric vehicle battery project agreement with South Korea worth Rp142.45 billion.

"By the end of 2023, our target is that at least 50 percent of the total area of Batang KIT -- which reaches 4,300 hectares -- will be occupied," Lahadalia added.

The development of the Batang KIT will be implemented in three phases. The first construction phase covered an area of 450 hectares.

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Translator: Ade Junida, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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