TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An investor from Japan is planning to build three shopping centers in Indonesia over the next two years. Franky Sibarani, chief of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), said that this investment plan is worth Rp 900 billion.

"One shopping center construction project could be worth Rp 300 billion. So our initial estimate for the whole project is Rp 900 billion," Franky said in a statement released Tuesday, June 7, 2016.

That amount of investment, Franky said, is considerably large. BKPM promises to help process the investment plan to materialize immediately.

The Japanese investor is now conducting a research to decide where the project would be located in Greater Jakarta.

The company, which has branches in Cambodia, has selected a local partner for the project development. The construction of one shopping center is estimated to finish in a year and a half. Once the three shopping centers in Greater Jakarta are built, the investor plans to start researching areas in Surabaya and Makassar.

Saribua Siahaan, BKPM officer for investment promotion at the Tokyo Office (IIPC), said they are ready to facilitate and guide the investors in developing and fast-tracking their business.

"That way, we hope that the investor's confidence to do business in Indonesia will continue to rise," Saribua said.

The BKPM recorded that Japan is among the top ten nations whose investment commitment grew more than 40 percent in 2015.

Japanese investors' actual investment in 2015 also increased by six percent to US$2.87 billion compared to the year before. The Japanese worked on a total of 2,030 projects in Indonesia, employing 115,400 local workers.

Japan's main investment contribution is dominated by projects from the manufacturing sector, particularly the auto industry, electronics, machinery, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.

AMIRULLAH