Jokowi Promises to Continue Infrastructure Connectivity

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - During the second round of presidential debates, Presidential candidate Joko “Jokowi” Widodo expressed his eagerness to continue the infrastructure projects he helped initiate during his four-year tenure as president.

“This is what we should continue to do to improve the connectivity between islands, provinces, districts, and cities,” said Jokowi in the second debate at Hotel Sultan on February 17.

Jokowi underlined the importance of Indonesia’s competitiveness will rely heavily on infrastructure developments and transportation. “Without this competitiveness, forget it,” he said.

Other than infrastructure, Jokowi’s view on an interconnected nation is not just through physical connectivity such as in the establishments of toll roads, harbors, airports, but also nation-wide digitalization through the country’s satellite Palapa Ring.

He claims that the Palapa Ring has 100-percent served its purpose across Indonesia’s western and central regions with the eastern regions following closely at 90-percent. This development will be followed by another of his promises to improve the quality of human resources.

Jokowi defended his administration’s infrastructure-centric policies after Prabowo Subianto criticized the government’s inefficient developments and warned that infrastructures should not be abandoned into mere monuments without serving any purpose.

CAESAR AKBAR