Indonesia, May 22 -- The development of the National Salt Industry Zone (K-SIGN) in Rote Ndao, East Nusa Tenggara, plays a vital role in supporting national needs, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has stressed.

"Our annual salt demand is 5 million tons. We cannot meet that yet, so this project is crucial for meeting domestic salt needs," Gibran said in a statement on Friday, following an inspection of the industrial site.

In addition to supporting salt self-sufficiency, the Vice President emphasized the importance of accelerating the project's development to bring economic benefits to the local community.

"We want this project to be operational as soon as possible. We want to create as many jobs as possible, help local residents, ...