Indonesian Industry Minister Saleh Husin inaugurated the new shoe factory in West Java.

The new facility has an annual production capacity of 15 million pairs and will provide employment to 5 500 people, according to a news release from the ministry, as quoted by local agency news. The investment totaled 60 million US dollars and the factory will produce for Nike, with all products manufactured at the spot then routed to Europe, the United States and other parts of Asia.

Mr. Husin said it is the Indonesian government’s hope that the factory owner (South Korea-based Changshin Group) can promote Indonesia as a regional production hub for the footwear industry in Asia. Investment in Indonesia’s footwear industry reached 836 million US dollars in 2013, according to Mr. Husin.

According to the World Footwear Yearbook, Indonesia was in 2014 the 5th largest producer of footwear (700 million pairs) and the 7th largest exporter (178 million pairs).