WEST PAPUA – Indonesia’s economic growth was recorded to grow quite positively in the second quarter of 2024 and this was also driven by significant growth in several provinces in Indonesia on an annual basis. The Central Bureau of Statistics has announced data on economic growth in the second quarter of 2024 reaching 5.05% on an annual basis and this figure is lower when compared to the first quarter of 2024, amounting to 5.11%, for the record the Indonesian economy grew 5.11 in the first quarter of 2024 and contracted 0.83%.
The lower growth was partly triggered by weakening public consumption, consumption only grew 4.93% in the second quarter of 2024 and was much lower than 5.22% a year ago or in the second quarter of 2023.
The region or island with the highest economic growth is Maluku and Papua at 8.45% and growth in this region is dominated by:
- Processing Industry,
- Mining,
- Excavation,
- Government Administration.
While in terms of contribution to growth, Java Island is the highest region which amounted to 57.04% with a growth of 4.92% and while based on 34 provinces, there are eight provinces that grew higher than the growth of the National Gross Domestic Product, namely:
- West Papua,
- West Nusa Tenggara,
- North Maluku,
- Central Sulawesi,
- East Kalimantan,
- Southeast Sulawesi,
- Bali,
- North Sulawesi.
The eastern part of Indonesia saw significant growth, especially West Papua which was able to grow 21.11% or the highest compared to other provinces and this growth is far above the national figure of 5.05% and above other provinces including Jakarta which only grew 4.9% and means that West Papua’s growth is four times higher than Jakarta. North Maluku and Central Sulawesi grew high thanks to the nickel downstreaming in the region and North Maluku has even grown double digits for the last 15 quarters.
Deputy for Balance Sheet and Statistical Analysis, Mohammad Edy Mahmud said economic growth in Maluku and Papua was driven by economic activity in West Papua, “With the main sources of growth in mining and quarrying processing and government administration,” said Mohammad Edy Mahmud.
In addition to mining and quarrying, West Papua is now becoming a food barn development area for Papua, PT Pupuk Indonesia and PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur are building a fertilizer industrial area project in West Papua.
The Ministry of Agriculture also designated West Papua as a pilot location for palm oil downstreaming and in this region there are 100 thousand to 200 thousand hectares of land prepared for palm oil downstreaming, and then, North Maluku is also listed as a nickel downstreaming center, no wonder Maluku and Papua scored quite high economic growth.
