BUMN Tasked with Building Adequate Infrastructure: President

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned enterprises, especially those operating in the construction and infrastructure sectors, are in charge of building as much infrastructure as possible, President Joko Widodo stated.

"Their duty is to build as much infrastructure as possible rather than simply enjoying profits from the existing ones, and I see that being carried out by Waskita Karya, through its subsidiary and other state-owned enterprises," the president noted in his remarks during the inauguration of the financial closing event for non-government funded investment projects at the State Palace in Jakarta, Friday.

Waskita Karya is an Indonesian state-owned construction development corporation.

Furthermore, the president said he had ordered the National Development Agency to immediately securitize the completed infrastructure projects implemented by state-owned enterprises to raise further funding for other infrastructure development projects.

"I have called on the national development minister to change the status of these completed projects from greenfield to brownfield, so it can soon be released again through securitization and generate more money to be used for development in other areas," he remarked.

From the very beginning, infrastructure development has been identified as a key factor in realizing the governments target to ensure economic equality across Indonesia, he added.

"It will also open several new employment avenues and opportunities for the growth of small and medium enterprises," he noted.

Hence, he lauded the breakthrough measures being undertaken to fund such projects, which include the non-governmental investment funding mechanism (PINA) that complements the infrastructure financing scheme alongside the partnerships between the government and businesses.

When infrastructure development depends solely on the state budget, construction will take a long time due to the limited availability of funds in the budget, he stated.

"Hence, special schemes, including Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and limited mutual funds, need to be continued," he remarked.

The president also cited the example of the Umbulan infrastructure project in Pasuruan, East Java, that is currently up and running again through the non-governmental investment scheme after being idle for a few years.

"Now, I see the Umbulan project, which had come to a standstill for a few years, is now back up again through the implementation of the PPP scheme. I think these types of breakthroughs need to be continued, and we have to come out of our comfort zones," he added.

ANTARA