Ministry SOE Beautify Indonesia Infrastructure

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia -- The Ministry of State-Owned Enterprise (BUMN) through Indonesia Pavilion presents investment opportunity worth USD 42.2 billion to a number of investors who attended the Annual IMF-World Bank Group Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali.

The investment opportunity comes from 80 projects that are being developed in Indonesia with the total project cost from various sectors recorded up to USD 86.1 billion.

Infrastructure is one of the sectors that offer investment opportunities. Based on the Ministry of BUMN data, investment opportunities for the construction and infrastructure sectors were worth USD 16.2 billion from 30 projects. In addition, there are also investment opportunities for the manufacturing sector worth USD 600 million.

SOE Minister Rini M. Soemarno said there were four focus areas for infrastructure development, namely the electricity sector, road connectivity, sea connectivity, and airport connectivity.

"We will ensure consistent implementation of basic infrastructure projects such as toll roads, seaports, airports and telecommunications. We continue to encourage infrastructure improvements," the Minister said.

For the electricity sector, the electrification ratio is targeted to reach 99.9% by the end of 2019. As for road connectivity, there are plans to extend the toll road up to 1,794 kilometers in 2019.

As well sea connectivity is expected to increase 34.8 million TEUs of cargo capacity by the end of 2019. Meanwhile, airport connectivity is expected to reach 235 million passengers by the end of 2019.

Noticing the development of Indonesia infrastructure, IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld express his appreciation. He emphasized that Indonesia really needs better infrastructure from various sides.

Regarding the investment opportunities offered, Maurice considered that this was a positive thing. By continuing to open foreign direct investment, he continued, it can have a greater impact towards the infrastructure needs.

"Indonesia is a country with very fast economic growth, so it also becomes a very large market," Maurice added.

(vws)