Today, administration regions (provincial, regency/municipal) tend to have more space in regional development due to decentralization policy from the central government; hence, there are more opportunities for regional governments to formulate regional and local policies in order to optimize the utilization of their economic potential.

This will enable regional governments with their autonomy to yield various concepts in offering investment opportunities and constructing various infrastructures to support economic growth in the regions. Along with this concept, bottom up planning approaches as opposed to past approaches of top down planning are adopted as the key in the regional autonomy nowadays which is expected to bring the people to a higher level of prosperity.

The North Sulawesi Province as an integral part of the Republic of Indonesia is located in the northern edge of Eastern Indonesia and has enormous potential in tourism, agriculture and fishery that are supported by necessary infrastructure. The North Sulawesi Province with Manado City as the capital is geographically situated between 0.30-4.40° north latitude and 123.0-127.00° east longitude. The total area of the province is 15,272.44 km2 with most of the area as low hills at 0-2,000 meters above the sea level.

The population of the province amounts to 2,189.273 people with density of 142.5 people per km2, and is categorized as an agrarian society with about a half of the people earnings coming from the agricultural sector.

In the globalization era, all stakeholders must anticipate the development and benefit of free trade zone efforts e.g. Asian Free Trade Area (AFTA), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), North America Free Trade Area (NAFTA), etc., and the growth of global economy which has potential to utilize North Sulawesi trade facilities.

The comparative advantage possessed by the province and the support by a number of facilities has to be managed optimally in order to accelerate thedevelopment of North Sulawesi. Consequently, the use and allocation of all of the advantages mentioned above have to be optimized in order to boost economic growth contributed by trade, tourism, manufacture industries, and other sectors in North Sulawesi specifically and Indonesia in general.

ECONOMY-SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE

Sam Ratulangi International Airport, located 17 km northeast of Manado, is one of the busiest airports in eastern Indonesia. This airport is designated as one of the 11 main entry ports to Indonesia by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Indonesia and serves as the main gateway to Bunaken.  Most of the destinations within Indonesia are easily reached from this international airport. Sam Ratulangi Airport has regular international flight services to and from Singapore (Silk Air) 4 days a week and Davao, the Philippines (Lion/Wings Air) once a week. Beginning 12 September 2008 Air Asia will launch the Manado-Kuala Lumpur route three times per week. Other international flights to and from Japan, China and Taiwan are to be opened in the near future.

Bitung port is one of the best natural ports in Indonesia currently serving domestic and international shipping lines and container cargos. This port is very strategic, as Makassar Strait is in the center of the Indonesian archipelago, connecting the western with the eastern regions of Indonesia. Taking the strategic position into consideration, in the future Bitung Port is being prepared to become an international hub port, handling local, national and international cargo transportation as cargo consolidation center (CCC) in eastern Indonesia, and a transhipment port, supported also by the potential of hinterland and surrounding ports. This port will be also prepared as a fishery port with international standard and qualification.

SOCIAL, EDUCATION, AND CULTURE

Human Development Index (HDI) of North Sulawesi is the second rank to the national after Jakarta in 2006, which has been maintained up to year 2007. It reached 74.2 in 2005 and increased to 74.4 in 2006. High HDI was indicated by high literacy rate which was 98.88%, high life expectancy at birth of 71.8 years (compared to 69 years at national level), low infant mortality rate of 25.4/1000 live births  (compared to 35/1000 live births at national level) and low child malnutrition rate of 0.07% (compared with 26% at national level).  

Using national education standard, in 2007, 98.60% of elementary school (SD) pupils, 94.98% of junior high school students (SMP), and 93.18% of senior high school students (SMA) passed the integrated national exam. Average score of national exam results for junior and senior high school was above 7 which is higher than the national average.

North Sulawesi is blessed with a wide-range of cultural diversity, distinguished arts and unique handicrafts. Bentenan weaving, one of North Sulawesi best quality handicrafts, was rediscovered after an absent of 200 years in 2005. The rediscovery of this ‘hidden treasure’ was a valuable contribution to the national art disposal. Therefore, it is unsurprisingly that the Indonesian president and first lady often wear Bentenan-designed dress in many official ceremonies as a symbol of appreciation. To increase local awareness and to promote this traditional arts textile, Bentenan center has been established in Sonder, Minahasa.

ENVIRONMENT
 
North Sulawesi government is deeply concerned with environmental conservation and protection. Governor Sarundajang has committed himself to the sustainable management of natural resources for the sake of future generations. Sarundajang’s passion for the protection and conservation of North Sulawesi environment has been rewarded. In July 2007, he received Green Government Award from various environmental NGOs and communities based in North Sulawesi. The government does not welcome environmental-unfriendly industries or investments. Local communities are constantly encouraged to preserve North Sulawesi’s unique ecosystem from natural disasters generated mainly by human activities and ignorance. North Sulawesi Tree Planting Movement or “Gerakan SULUT Menanam” launched in 2006 is a real action to serve this purpose.

At the moment, Bunaken National Park is being recommended as a World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO. In addition to our environmental concern, several wildlife reserve parks are being maintained within the North Sulawesi area such as, Tangkoko – Batuangus Wildlife Reserve and Dumoga  Bone National Park.