PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The Bandung City Government will develop Kosambi Market as an investment opportunity. This was marked by the signing of a letter of intent between the Bandung City Government and Bank Mandiri.

According to Bandung Mayor Muhammad Farhan, Kosambi Market has various business potentials that can be developed.

In addition to the presence of traditional market traders, there are also business actors who manage the Hallway and other traders who are part of the market ecosystem.

"This is an investment opportunity with a variety of business models," said Farhan while reviewing Kosambi Market during the West Java Investment Challenge (WJIC) 2026 assessment, Tuesday (September 1, 2026).

Farhan explained that Bank Mandiri will later be able to bring in a number of customers who are deemed to have the ability to invest.

However, Farhan reminded, the most important aspect in developing Kosambi Market is not just investment, but also regional governance.

"For me, the most important thing is governance. Is it good now? It looks good, but governance isn't optimal," he said.

He highlighted the need for improvement in the Kosambi Market area, particularly during the evening and early morning hours. This situation is even more crucial because the area is also linked to the development of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route.

Farhan said that the activities of street vendors at night until the market spills over in the morning need to be a shared concern so as not to disrupt the function of roads and transportation.

"That's why this has to be a consideration. For us, governance is the most important thing," he said.

In this investment scheme, Farhan assessed that capital support from Bank Mandiri is a business investment that must generate profits and be returned according to the financing mechanism, not social assistance.

"Bank Mandiri's capital must be returned with profits. So it's not a social contribution," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Head of the Bank Indonesia West Java Representative Office and member of the WJIC 2026 assessment team, Muslimin Anwar, stated that Kosambi Market was one of the 12 best projects in WJIC 2026.

Of the 31 projects that entered the assessment process, several were then selected based on their potential and investment attractiveness. Kosambi Market was one of the projects deemed to have potential for investment development.

Muslimin said that potential investors' interest in WJIC projects indicates an opportunity to strengthen connectivity between regional development projects and private sector financing sources.

Specifically for Kosambi Market, he said there are development opportunities through financing and strengthening the business ecosystem.

According to him, the success of the investment in Kosambi Market is expected to become a model that can be replicated in other markets.

(Bandung City Communications and Information Service/rka)