Yogi Eka Sahputra, Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency for Batam reported a number of indicators of the city's economic growth which showed bright results. In 2022, the economic development rate skyrocketed to 6.84 percent.

This growth increased by 2.09 percent compared to the rate in 2021 which was 4.75 percent. Thus, the figure was at its highest rate in the last 5 years and was higher than the economic growth rate for the Riau Islands Province of around 3.15 percent and the national rate of 5.31 percent.

Muhammad Rudi, the Head of the Batam Development Board or BP Batam, said the city's integrated and comprehensive planning helped encourage its development targets and drive the regional economic sector.

"We hope that public infrastructure investment will positively impact economic growth. We hope that with Batam's development policy that has been prepared, this figure can continue to increase to 7 percent," said Rudi.

Other economic indicators also showed positive numbers. The export value in 2022 reached US$15,562.16 million and saw a surge of 29.29 percent compared to 2021. The largest export commodity was electrical machinery or equipment with a value of US$7,238.59 Million, followed by mechanical aircraft maintenance machines at US$1,518.45 Million.

Thus, Batam City contributed 79.29 percent of the total cumulative exports of the Riau Islands which amounted to US$19,626.16 million.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1697765/batams-economy-grows-6-84-in-202