Jakarta – Ganjar Pranowo plans to turn North Sulawesi into an import-export hub if elected president, saying that doing so would contribute significantly to the province's economic growth.
"That is the new economic growth [driver] that we will create," the presidential candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) told a campaign rally in the provincial capital Manado on Thursday, as quoted by Antara News.
Ganjar said this would involve developing the local maritime and natural resource processing sectors for exporting worldwide from North Sulawesi's ports.
"Maritime wealth should be processed and spread around the world," he said.
The former Central Java governor also underlined that the people of North Sulawesi had a role in the natural resources downstreaming sector, which was expected to create local jobs. To support this aim, Ganjar added, the government needed to improve education in the province to create more competitive human resources.
Ganjar reminded his supporters to talk to others about their aspirations while encouraging them to exercise their voting right, making sure to note down others' concerns and aspirations and "give them to us".
He also rallied his supporters to help him and running mate Mahfud MD to win the election in a single round.
"Today, I hear and feel the wave of total victory through a single round. [...] I feel the air of victory [in] Manado," Ganjar said.