President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo symbolically planted the first sugarcane to mark the development of downstream sugarcane plantation, sugar factory, and bioethanol project in Sermayam Indah Village, Merauke Regency, South Papua, on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
The sugar self-sufficiency project, developed on an area of 633,763 hectares, is one of the government’s strategic initiatives to support national food security and increase renewable energy production.
“Everything has been scientifically undertaken if you look at the flat field … water is also in abundance… I think it is indeed an opportunity to make Indonesia a food barn, be it rice, corn or sugarcane, in Merauke and its surroundings. Sugarcane and corn can later be used for sugar and bioethanol,” President Jokowi said in a statement on Thursday, July 25, 2025.
Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia, who accompanied the President in the event, said that President Jokowi’s visit shows the government’s serious attention on food and energy security programs in the country.
“The government’s target in 2027 is for sugar production to reach 3 million tons per year. This means that Indonesia can fulfill its own needs. We should be self-sufficient in sugar. No longer dependent on other countries,” Bahlil, who is also Chairman of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Sugar and Bioethanol Self-sufficiency in Merauke Regency, South Papua, said.
He appreciated the support given by the provincial and regency administrations so that this project could be quickly realized. He also reminded the importance of local administration’s role to encourage the involvement of local entrepreneurs and people in the vicinity in order to benefit from economic improvement in the region.
“I am happy to see the current development of the project, of course this cannot be separated from the support of Acting Governor of South Papua and Merauke Regent. We also leave them to guard that the surrounding people and local entrepreneurs are involved in this project. There must be a symbiotic mutualism between plasma and core. That’s important!” Bahlil added.
The National Strategic Project’s (PSN) integrated sugarcane plantation in Cluster 3 includes 600 ha of ready-to-plant land, 1,500 ha of land clearing process, as well as road infrastructure development and mechanization. The total investment plan for PSN’s integrated sugarcane plantations in Cluster 3 in Merauke is US$5.62 billion (Rp 83.27 trillion).
