Jakarta (ANTARA) - Development of the Sanur Special Economic Zone (SEZ) that integrates the health sector with tourism targets providing inclusive health services, digital-based economic transformation, and transition towards sustainable energy, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir stated.
The minister noted that Bali Island has vast potential to become a center for medical tourism in Southeast Asia and also to bring a broad impact on improving the economy of local communities.
"The Sanur area in Bali was chosen not only for historical factors and the legacy of our first President, Soekarno, but also to reinforce the initial idea. With this Health special economic zone, we are taking advantage of the beauty of Bali to serve patients with world-class health services. We hope this effort will globalize Sanur as international health tourism," Thohir noted in an official statement received here, Monday.
On Monday, the minister visited the Sanur SEZ with the fifth president of the Republic of Indonesia, Megawati Soekarno Putri. The Sanur area, which was built based on the tourism vision initiated by the first President, Soekarno, to advance Indonesia on the international tourism stage, is being transformed by the SOEs Ministry to become a comprehensive tourist destination that specializes in health and tourism.
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In an area spanning 41.26 hectares, the ministry is developing health facilities in the form of international standard hospitals and clinics in collaboration with the largest hospital in the United States, Mayo Clinic, and conducting revitalization of the Bali Beach Hotel or Grand Inna Bali Beach (GIBB), convention center, ethnomedicinal botanical garden, and a commercial center to accommodate micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Bali Beach Hotel, or GIBB, as one of the legacies renovated in Sanur SEZ, is a hotel designed by President Soekarno that was built in 1963 and completed in 1966.
In the development of the Sanur SEZ that involves SOEs holding In Journey, Hotel Indonesia Natour (HIN), Nindya Karya, Indonesia Healthcare Corporation (IHC), and PP, the number of rooms in the hotel will be increased, from 246 to 274, with a more modern building and room concept.
Transformation of the Sanur tourist area is the second revitalization effort made by Minister Thohir on President Soekarno's legacy. Earlier, the ministry had turned the Sarinah Trade Center, which was built by President Soekarno in 1962, into a collaborative space for creative economy actors as well as a center for national MSMEs.
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