TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Head of the BP Batam Supervisory Board, Susiwijono Moegiarso, hope the situation in Rempang remains conducive for investment. The Rempang Eco City National Strategic Project has previously been marred with resident rejections and faced agrarian conflicts.

Susiwijono maintained that a safe situation is a benchmark for foreign investors, especially for China’s Xinyi Group, which already planned an Rp381 trillion investment in the project. 

"Xinyi also invests in the Gresik Special Economic Zone (SEZ), so hopefully the investment in Batam is left undisturbed,” said Susiwijono at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday, December 2, 2024.

The government has planned to resolve the relocation of residents in Rempang, with 350 housing units prepared this year for the people affected by the project. BP Batam, or the Free Trade and Free Port Zone of Batam, said it targets the completion of 961 housing units by 2025.

This year's housing construction collaborated with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, but since the new government changed the ministerial nomenclature, the construction will be resumed by BP Batam. "We must finish the construction since we are relocating the people. They must be provided with the land, the house, and the necessary infrastructure,” he said. 

Member of the Area Management and Investment Division of BP Batam, Sudirman Saad, said the government has tasked his agency to procure land for investment purposes and to handle the affected residents. The first phase of land procurement, obtained in coordination with a developer PT Makmur Elok Graha, covers 2,370 hectares. 

Ninety percent of the land is described as convertible production forest (HPK). To acquire these lands, the government must downgrade the status from HPK to other land-use areas. Within these lands, 961 households are affected by the Rempang Eco City project development.

Addressing the House of Representatives (DPR), Sudirman claimed “an incident occurred in September 2023” during the development of the project due to the social dynamics in the area.  

Conflict arose last year between the developer and the residents who opposed the Rempang Eco City project. Now, however, Sudirman said 231 families out of the 961 residing within the areas have registered for relocation. 

Forty-one families have already settled in permanent houses in the provided location, Tanjung Banun Village, Pulau Galang, Riau Islands. He hopes that all housing units for affected Rempang residents will be completed next year.

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