Batam, an Indonesian city located in Riau Islands, recorded impressive economic growth of 6.84% in 2022, a notable increase of 2.09% from the previous year’s rate of 4.75%. The latest economic figure places Batam’s growth rate at its highest in the past five years, surpassing both the national average growth rate of 5.31% and the overall provincial economic growth of around 5.09%. Chairman of Badan Pengusahaan Batam (BP Batam) Muhammad Rudi attributes the impressive performance to BP Batam’s integrated and comprehensive planning, which was instrumental in boosting Batam’s development targets and driving regional economic growth.
Muhammad Rudi expressed his optimism that public infrastructure investment would continue to have a positive impact on economic growth in the city, and with the direction of Batam’s development policy that has been prepared by BP Batam, he hopes that the growth rate can increase to 7%.
Apart from economic growth, other economic indicators in Batam are equally impressive. In 2022, Batam’s export value reached $15.56 billion, a significant increase of 29.29% compared to the previous year. The largest export commodity is machinery/electrical equipment, valued at $7.24 billion, followed by mechanical aircraft maintenance machines at $1.52 billion. Batam’s cumulative export value contributed 79.29% of the total cumulative exports of the Riau Islands, which were valued at $19.62 billion. The largest export volume and value by destination country are still dominated by Singapore, followed by the United States, China, Denmark, and India.
Additionally, the city’s Human Development Index (HDI) for 2022 was the highest in the province, recorded at 81.67, while the Riau Islands’ HDI is 76.46. Muhammad Rudi credits Batam’s impressive performance to an organized development strategy in terms of land, sea, and air transportation, with infrastructure as a priority, to enable various economic activities to grow and increase connectivity while supporting the productivity of society and industry.
BP Batam has continued to complete numerous infrastructure projects to enable the city’s economic growth, with 59 strategic infrastructure projects completed in 2021 and 32 regional strategic infrastructure projects completed in 2022. In 2023, 17 infrastructure projects will continue, while 24 projects will be prepared in 2024, with the aim of stimulating upstream and downstream economic activity.
Investment realization figures have also continued to rise in Batam, with foreign investment realization in 2022 increasing by 48.5%, with a total of 1,738 projects and a total value of $746.85 million.
Overall, Batam’s strengthening economic conditions have not made BP Batam complacent, but rather encouraged the completion of the 2023-2024 priority projects in accordance with established budget plans. Muhammad Rudi highlights the need to continue improving infrastructure and implementing programs to attract investment, with the duty to work together to keep Batam safe.
