Jumat, 27 November 2015

INDONESIA TO EXPEDITE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

 By Andi Abdussalam
          Jakarta, Nov 27 (Antara) - The government hopes to start implementing infrastructure projects by early 2016 in an effort to stem the continuing slide in the economy.
         It is in the process of finalizing government-private partnerships (KPS) and foreign loan-funded infrastructure projects that will be implemented soon. Some 1,600 infrastructure projects under the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing are ready for auction.
         Minister of National Development Planning and Head of the National Development Planning Board Sofyan Djalil said on Wednesday that the projects are ready for auction and construction can start by early 2016.
         "Those (ministries/state institutions), who have received a huge budget for infrastructure development, have been responsive," he noted on the sidelines of an economic seminar.
         The government is expediting the implementation of the infrastructure projects because this can help overcome certain problems in the economy, which is still slowing down.
         According to Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, infrastructure development is part of the solutions that will help stem the economic slide.
        "The economic slowdown is still taking place. We must have a reliable sector that can halt it. We should boost government expenditure in infrastructure development," the Finance Minister noted here on Thursday.



         He remarked that infrastructure facilities can have a big multiplier effect on boosting economic growth. Infrastructure projects will also absorb a large number of workers.
         The construction of infrastructure related projects, such as bridges and roads, will increase the sales of steel and other materials, thus indirectly boosting the construction sector.
         Besides, such facilities will help improve connectivity and logistics system, thereby contributing to sustainable national economic growth.
         "In the long run, infrastructure facilities are assets and will have a significant impact," he affirmed.
         Therefore, the government will accelerate the development of certain infrastructure-related sectors that could have a quick impact on the economy. Infrastructure projects will need a lot of funds.
         According to the Minister of State-Owned Corporations (BUMN), Rini Soemarno, the entire planned infrastructure in Indonesia needed a total financing of around Rp5 thousand trillion rupiah.
         "It is impossible to source funding of such magnitude from within the country. It means that we need to attract foreign investors," Rini emphasized, after attending the Pertamina Energy Forum on Tuesday (Nov 24).
         She also explained that infrastructure development was planned in the energy sector as well as transportation and welfare, and these should be integrated with each other.
         She affirmed that all ministers have been tasked with the special responsibility of inviting investors from various countries and in accordance with their respective fields.
         National Development Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil said preparations for KPS and foreign loan projects needed to be finalized so that by the time 2016 begins, the private sector's commitment to the government and the external loans could be realized. Thus, the development of infrastructure would start at the beginning of 2016.
         Moreover, the finances needed for infrastructure projects of the KPS programs and external loans are relatively high. Based on the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) data, the government has set a target of 23.5 billion US dollars for the KPS infrastructure project. 
    As for external loans for infrastructure projects, the government has set a target of foreign loans amounting to 3.8 billion US dollars or Rp51.6 trillion based on the Green Book 2015 data.

         Deputy for regional infrastructure affairs of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Luky Eko Wuryanto said the funding for the KPS and external loan projects largely depended on the projects' state of readiness.
         Therefore, he asked the technical ministries, which are responsible for the projects, to finalize all the preparation stages before the year 2016 begins.
         He said that a number of technical ministries have been responding to the project acceleration policy by finalizing their preparations since early this year, as in the case of the Manado-Bitung and the Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road projects under the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing.
         On the other hand, several other ministries, including agriculture and transportation, have also accelerated their planning and preparations for their strategic projects, Sofyan said.   
    "They (technical ministries) have been well prepared and have now made better preparations for government projects, as compared to the previous year," he noted.

         The Ministry of Public Works and Housing, with the largest number of projects, has received the biggest budget amounting to Rp104.08 trillion, while the Ministry of Agriculture received Rp31.5 trillion, and the Ministry of Transportation Rp48 trillion.
         Sofyan assured that preparations for the projects in the four ministries were going in at a swifter pace now as compared to last year.
         Luky Eko Wuryanto noted that the physical construction of the projects financed by the state budget could be started early next year, including the transportation ministry improving the capacity of seaports and the public works ministry constructing roads. ***3***
(A014/INE/B003)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 27-11-2015 18:54:

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