Jakarta. State-owned construction firm PTPP recently offered 1,000 affordable staple food packages to the people living in Bukit Raya village, near Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara.

PTPP -- alongside Adhi Karya and Wijaya Karya -- also held a bazaar for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The staple food initiative is part of the government’s commitment to make sure people do not go hungry amidst the El Nino-induced rising food prices.

Each package includes 5 kilograms of rice, 1 kilogram of cooking oil, and 1 kilogram of sugar worth Rp 148,500. Each package was sold at just Rp 50,000.

“Thank you, President Joko Widodo, State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir, and the construction firms in Nusantara, including PTPP for helping our village,” Bukit Raya village head Yatiman Setiawan was quoted as saying in a recent press statement.

The program is part of the so-called “Safari Ramadan BUMN” and also to celebrate the SOE Ministry’s 26th anniversary. 

As part of this program, the ministry -- alongside other SOEs -- is selling 1,000 affordable staple food packages across 40 cities/regencies in Indonesia. People can also sign up for free homecoming trips, as well as an MSME bazaar. PTPP’s corporate secretary Bakhtiyar Efendi said his company was supportive of this initiative.

“The affordable staple food packages, coupled with the MSME bazaar, is part of the company’s corporate social responsibility to welcome the blessed Ramadan month. This shows that we care about the people around Nusantara, the Northern Penajam Paser, so they can get food at affordable prices,” Bakhtiyar said.