Indonesia's Riau Province seeks Indian funds for infrastructure devt

New Delhi, Sep 4 (UNI) Riau Province of Indonesia, better known as its oil capital, has sought India's expertise and investment in infrastructure building, especially in the area of toll-road construction, oil exploration and electricity generation.

''India with its steady economy and world-class technological know-how can prove to be advantageous for Riau Province which is undertaking infrastructure development projects on mass scale,'' Chairperson of Promotion and Investment Board of Riau Province Tiolina Pangaribuan told reporters here.

Riau has 50-km long Pekanbaru-Damai toll road in the pipeline which is planned to be completed in three years at the cost of 1,706 billion Indonesia rupiah.

In order to attract more foreign investments in the country, Indonesia has initiated the process of simplification of legal produres regarding foreign direct investments.

''A new investment law has been proposed to Parliament which seeks to simplify the current 150-day investment permit process to a single-window 30-day one. It will also provide legal certainty in case of overlapping regional bye-laws and guarantee equal treatment for foreign and domestic investment, as well as codify international arbitration,'' Indonesian Ambassador to India Donnilo Anwar informed.

Riau accounts for 60 per cent of 1.061-million bbl per day production of oil in Indonesia. In addition to having oil reserves, the province is rich in possesses natural gas, coal, limesone and which can be used for power generation. Presence of bauxite, tin and granite deposits may also be used for industial purposes, a release said.

UNI PKS RA PM1827