Jakarta. The Grand Batang City recently revealed that it had earned a $25 million investment from close neighbor Singapore.

Kawasan Industri Terpadu (KIT) Batang, also known as Grand Batang City, announced that this investment came from Singapore-based wood pellet producer Sampoerna Kayoe. This also marked the first investment deal that the industrial zone had secured this year. Both parties signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the wood pellet investment last week.

Sampoerna Kayoe is planning to build a plant over 5.2 hectares of land in Batang Industrial Park. The plant is forecast to hire 173 workers, about 68 percent of which will come from locals.

“This shows their [Sampoerna Kayoe’s] trust in the industrial potential of our region, and how it can give a significant impetus to the regional economic development,”  KIT Batang’s president director Ngurah Wirawan said, as reported by Investor Daily over the weekend.

Sampoerna Kayoe’s director Johanes Ibrahim Tjendana said that the investment would be mutually beneficial for both parties. Johanes added: “We hope this investment becomes the initial step to strengthen Indonesia’s biomass industry. And hopefully, we can help support sustainable energy security.”

Sampoerna Kayoe processes wood waste into pellets for biomass power plants. The company claimed that it had exported its products to Japan.