MP3EI Projects Must be Focused Outside Java

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Perkumpulan Prakarsa executive director Setyo Budiantoro said on Wednesday that the government must improve the structure of gross domestic product growth. GDP growth should not only be supported by industrial activities in Java andSumatra, but also in other islands.

One of the programs the government is working on is the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development (MP3EI). The program, Setyo said, should also be directed to islands outside Java.

"If the program's goal is to achieve equal development and poverty reduction, the MP3EI should be focused outside Java," Setyo told Tempo yesterday. By doing so, he said, a high-quality economic growth will be achieved by reducing poverty and unemployment rates.

The statement was a response to the government's targets to begin 166 MP3EI projects this year, with a total investment value of Rp628.9 trillion. Forty three projects—worth Rp111.62 trillion—are located on the island of Sumatra.

TRI ARTINING PUTRI