"Honestly, I am very impressed with this area's potential, as I believe that more than 26,600 people will get jobs here," he remarked in Rote Ndao on Tuesday.
Trenggono expressed optimism that K-SIGN would bring about far-reaching economic benefits to the district, extending beyond direct employment opportunities.
The minister noted that the center's development and operations would benefit not only those directly employed but also workers in supporting sectors, such as merchants, parking attendants, and fish vendors.
On that note, he said that the presence of K-SIGN has the potential to absorb approximately 50 thousand workers.
He also highlighted that the government had earmarked a budget worth Rp2 trillion (US$122.6 billion) to execute the project, which spans over 10 thousand hectares of land in Rote Ndao and is scheduled for development across 2025 and 2026.
"This year, we will begin the development, targeting to cover around 1,300 hectares. Hopefully, the project will have been started by this July," he stated, adding that the second phase of the development, covering around nine thousand hectares, is scheduled to launch next year.
He underlined that this national project serves as a strategic initiative aimed at boosting salt production in support of the government's target of achieving salt self-sufficiency by 2027, as outlined in Presidential Regulation No.17 of 2025 on accelerating national salt industry development.
"We, at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, have promised Mr. President to stop salt imports by the end of 2027," he added.
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Translator: Aji C, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Arie Novarina
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