"In order to maintain the preferred rate of economic growth, Indonesia needs to develop new megacities to complement Jakarta and Surabaya. It should be noted that we can see around 10 megacities standing in many countries," he said during a groundbreaking for the building of state-owned bank BNI.
He expressed his belief that by developing new cities, Indonesia will be able to establish new foundations for economic growth.
"We can learn from Mr. President Joko Widodo's determination to build the new capital city (Nusantara) with the aim of stimulating equitable economic growth in the country as a whole," he pointed out.
The minister underscored that Indonesia is currently enjoying a preferred economic growth rate of 5.05 percent, prevailing over the 5.03 percent rate registered in several G20 countries.
Thohir noted that Indonesia's success in reaching the notable economic growth rate has been the result of hard work and collaboration among the central and regional governments, private actors, state-owned firms, and foreign investors.
Cross-sector collaboration is crucial to help Indonesia navigate the increasingly fierce global economic competition, he emphasized.
In his remarks, Thohir said that the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises had been pushing Indonesian SOEs to establish collaboration with various parties.
"SOEs need to collaborate, emulating BNI's decision to place investment by developing infrastructure in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) 2 in a bid to pave the way for comprehensive economic growth," he said.
PIK 2 in Tangerang stands as an independent satellite city that wields the potential to emerge as a new business center equipped with a well-designed environment.
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Translator: M. Baqir, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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