President Asks Private Sector to Utilize Economic Opportunities

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo has urged the private sector to take advantage of investment opportunities to boost national economic growth.

"These are opportunities. Dont be onlookers. These are good investment and trade opportunities. Dont miss out on them," the president said in his keynote address at the investment meeting held by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) at Borobudur Hotel on Monday evening.

Jokowi stressed out that the private sector should not miss out on investment opportunities in Indonesia, particularly those on developing the fisheries and maritime sector in the eastern parts of the country.

"In the future, we need downstream industries to produce raw materials. The task of the private sector is to develop these industries by any means, while the government will only build infrastructure," he pointed out.

The government has begun to develop large-scale ports from the western to the eastern parts of the Indonesian territory, as part of efforts to realize the sea toll road program, he affirmed.

If ships with large carrying capacity can pass through the sea toll road, the distribution of goods will become easy, the prices of domestic products will become competitive, and the prices of goods will decline due to low transportation costs, the president emphasized.

"I believe if the development of the sea toll road is completed, large ships can anchor at ports in Kuala Tanjung, Tanjung Priok, Makassar, Tanjung Perak, and Sorong that are of the same standard," he remarked.

ANTARA