30/05/2011 (Jakarta Post) - Indonesia and China have signed a memorandum of agreement on joint investments in several transmigration areas in Indonesia on Saturday in Guangzhou, China.

The agreement was signed by PT Pulau Sumbawa Agro, represented by Soedomo Margonoto, owner of coffee maker Kapal Api Group, and Lei Yong Juan of Chinese state-owned Guandong Agribusiness, and was witnessed by Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar and Guandong Governor Huang Huahua.

Muhaimin said in a statement that the investment, which would create 28,300 new jobs, consisted of three projects: sisal plantation in West Sumbawa regency, West Nusa Tenggara, an oil palm plantation in Central Halmahera, North Maluku, and a sugarcane plantation in Bener Meriah regency in Aceh.

The three projects will be integrated to supply sugar, cooking oil and grain maize to support the two companies’ factories.

The 4,050-hectare sisal plantation will employ 3,300 transmigrant and local workers at the Togo transmigration settlement, the ministry said. The Central Halmahera administration has allocated 21,500-hectare of land for the oil palm plantation and is reviewing a transmigration license proposal for the plantation, which has an investment of Rp 200 billion (US$23.4 million). The plantation is estimated to employ 15,000 laborers.

An investment of Rp 1.2 trillion will be allocated to the 22,000-hectare sugarcane plantation that will employ 10,000 workers. The Kapal Api Group is conducting a feasibility study on the project.

Muhaimin said the Indonesian government welcomed the joint effort by the two companies and would support it by issuing permits and building basic infrastructure.

“We hope these investments will improve the people’s welfare and accelerate development in the regions involved,” he said. (msa)