REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BATAM -- Investors have asked the government not to eliminate the Batam free trade zone (FTZ) facility, which has so far served as a magnet for businesses to invest in Batam's industrial city.

"No matter who is going to be authorized to manage Batam, we investors ask that the government not demolish the FTZ facility," Chairman of the Honorary Council of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) for Riau Islands, Abidin Hasibuan said at the Hang Nadim airport here on Thursday.

He said his association would not interfere in the structure of the Batam Free Trade Zone Authority (BP Batam), but investors wanted the government to maintain the Batam free trade zone's status and facilities.

"We do not know who in charge or in power (in Batam). But what is feared most by investors is that the government eliminate the Batam FTZ facility, which so far has served as a magnet for Batam City," he said.

On December 30, 2015, Minister Tjahjo had said that BP Batam would be disbanded in an attempt to improve services offered to the people and to boost investment in the islands.

Minister Tjahjo explained that the plan to dissolve BP Batam was based on considerations of emerging problems due to the overlapping authority between BP Batam and the Batam Municipal Administration that could hinder the flow of investment.

However, Minister Luhut said on Thursday that the government had not taken a definitive decision yet to dissolve it as it was still studying it.

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