RI, S. Korea jointly setting up ICT training center in Cikarang

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia, in cooperation with South Korea, is setting up an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Training Center at Cikarang, Jababeka, West Java.

Communication and Informatics Minister Muhammad Nuh, accompanied by South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Sun-Jin, laid the first corner-stone of the building to house the training center in Cikarang on Wednesday.

The Indonesian government was developing a quality community in the ICT field because the need to master technology was rising, he said.

The head of the communication and informatics ministry`s research and development body, Aizirman Djusan, said the South Korean government had provided a grant amounting to US$8.9 million and the Indonesian government had earmarked Rp10 billion for the development of the training center.

He said the training center was expected to become a center of excellence and a model for similar training centers in Indonesia.

Standing on 2.5 hectares of land, the training center building would comprise among other things class rooms, laboratories and a large auditorium.

The construction of the ITC Training Center was a follow up of an agreement signed by the Indonesian communication and informatics ministry and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Djusan said.

Meanwhile, South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Sun-Jin said the training center would focus on ITC networking, multimedia, database and computer programming.

The ambassador hoped the training center could improve the ITC skills of about 5,000 people annually.

Minister Nuh said Cikarang which is part of the Jababeka area was the right location for the training center because around 1,350 companies owned by investors from 27 countries were also located there.

"So, graduates from the ICT Training Center can directly find jobs in the Jababeka area," the minister said.

With the presence of the ICT Training Center, Jababeka could become the hub of a `smart` area, the minister added.

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