INDONESIAN President Joko Widodo yesterday launched three special economic zones (SEZs) across 2,200 hectares of land at the eastern part of the archipelago in a fresh bid to attract investment and spur economic growth in less developed areas.

The government aims to attract 110 trillion rupiah (US$7.73 billion) investment in the SEZs — in East Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, and North Maluku — and create 120,000 jobs by 2025, according to a statement from the coordinating ministry for economic affairs.

Investors in the SEZs get preferential treatment such as removal of import duties for manufacturing of export goods, as well as easier land and employment rules, including allowing expatriates to own properties within the zone.

“We hope that the existence of SEZs will grow manufacturing and other industries so that we will no longer export raw materials, but products with higher added value,” Widodo said.

Widodo has had mixed success with his reform agenda since taking office in 2014, promising to transform Southeast Asia’s largest economy by reviving manufacturing and lifting growth to 7 percent. (SD-Agencies)