TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In contrast with his usually modest demeanor, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) touted the success of his administration in building infrastructure projects. While officially launching the Mandalika Special Economic Zone for Tourism in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on October 20, he said that the project was able to go forward thanks to a breakthrough of his doing. "Mandalika has been incomplete for 29 years due to the matter of securing the needed land," said Jokowi. "It would never have gotten done if I had not issued a presidential instruction."

This project, with an investment value of Rp13 trillion, is a part of the program to construct 17 special economic zones, something which the government has named a national strategic program. This program was designed to build growth centers all over Indonesia and to encourage surrounding areas to develop faster. The construction of these zones is set for completion in 2019.

In addition to building those special economic zones, Jokowi is also moving fast to complete some other infrastructure projects. Last week, the President officially opened Section 1 of the Becakayu (Bekasi, Cawang, Kampung Melayu) toll road. In mid-October, the President also opened the Medan-Binjai toll road, which is a part of the 24 roadways of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road. Investment in the Medan-Binjai roadway came to Rp1.6 trillion.

Infrastructure construction has been a priority for the administration of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla. With his commitment to building up the country starting from the outermost regions, Jokowi has targeted infrastructure development in a number of areas, especially outside of Java, including at the outermost islands and in border areas. The President has often personally supervised the infrastructure construction in those regions.

The overall target is to reduce economic disparity, which according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) as of last March stood at 0.393, which is the fourth worst in the world. The government hopes that once these infrastructure projects are completed, all the regions of Indonesia will be well-connected. Jokowi believes that only by improving inter-regional connectivity can economic growth reach 7-8 percent.

Read the full article in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine