Central Java governor urges faster approval for 12 industrial estates
Indonesia’s deputy investment minister pledged a maximum 30-day licensing process once all requirements were complete.
Licensing for 12 new industrial estates in Central Java should be accelerated to encourage economic growth and create jobs, Governor Ahmad Luthfi told Indonesia’s Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming. He made the request in Semarang on 11 November 2026, following an event establishing an investment desk.
Responding to the request, Deputy Minister of Investment and Downstreaming Todotua Pasaribu pledged that permits could be processed in no more than 30 days, conditional on complete requirements. He said he would call in the 12 industrial-estate businesses for clarification and to expedite the licensing paperwork. Pasaribu acknowledged that large, high-risk investments continued to encounter licensing problems requiring coordination between ministries.
The provincial government is asking 12 regencies and cities to prepare potential industrial sites covering at least 50 hectares each and complying with spatial plans. The proposed estates would be presented to prospective investors, with the aim of extending centres of economic growth to more areas.
Luthfi also described preparations for logistics infrastructure: development of a dry port in Batang, port facilities in Kendal and revitalisation of Semarang’s Tanjung Emas Port. He said logistics readiness mattered for goods distribution and lower industrial operating costs.
Figures from Central Java’s investment and one-stop licensing agency put realised investment for January–September 2026 at Rp72.54 trillion, or 73.21 per cent of the annual Rp99.09 trillion target. That investment accounted for 82,420 projects and employed 340,334 workers.
For the third quarter of 2026, investment totalled Rp24 trillion, up 16.78 per cent year on year, with 127,117 workers employed across 26,431 projects. Central Java’s economy grew 5.83 per cent year on year in that quarter.
