President: Infrastructure and human capital as foundation for Golden Indonesia 2045
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Investor Daily: Presiden: Infrastruktur dan SDM fondasi Indonesia Emas 2045
15 November 2019
Jakarta – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that infrastructure and human capital were the foundations that support Golden Indonesia 2045. Hence, those two aspects are the focus of President Jokowi in his second-term administration.
Jokowi explained that the lesson that could be taken from developed countries is that they always construct infrastructure to be followed by human capital development. The President said that, during his first-term administration, the infrastructure construction program had been carried out and it would be continued in parallel with the human capital development program in the second-term.
“What I learn from developed and leading countries that have been established before us [Indonesia] is that infrastructure is always followed by the second major agenda, which is human capital development. These two aspects are the solid foundations for Golden Indonesia 2045,” the President said during a discussion with forum A1 titled Makmur dan Terhubung Berkat Infrastruktur (Prosperous and Connected by Infrastructure) in Jakarta on Thursday (14/11).
President Jokowi mentioned that there was a major stage to become a leading country, namely innovation and technology development. However, infrastructure and human capital are still the main foundations to support Indonesia becoming a leading country.
Jokowi explained that, in his second second-term administration, the infrastructure construction program would be focussed on connecting existing infrastructures with economic centres. Hence, infrastructure can optimally create new economic centres to boost national economic growth.
“We are continuing [the development of] existing infrastructures, but there are some that are starting to be connected, such as the airport in Labuan Bajo which must be connected to tourism areas by widening the road. Toll roads must also be connected to production, agriculture, and tourism centres to trigger economic growth,” Joko said.
Besides boosting economic growth, the President revealed that constructing infrastructure meant constructing a new civilisation. Such as Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), the public is forced to queue to use the transportation mode.
“The most important thing in infrastructure construction is building a civilisation. The culture of queueing and being disciplined can be seen at MRT. There, it can be seen that the people have a culture of queueing, and Light Rail Transit (LRT) will cause the same thing. Infrastructure is also social justice for all Indonesians. Infrastructure is a strong foundation to increase competitiveness,” the President said.
During the same occasion, Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that the government was committed to build infrastructures for the next five years to catch up to neighbouring countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia.
“We are lacking in infrastructure. We are beaten by Malaysia and Thailand, but we are winning from Vietnam. We have to keep pursuing [infrastructure development] to catch up,” he revealed.
Basuki mentioned that one of the infrastructure projects was the toll road construction that had a target of 2,500 kilometres from 2020 to 2024.
“In the next five years, we will build 2,500 km of toll roads, including Trans-Sumatra, Kulonprogo-Yogyakarta-Solo toll road, and Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road,” Basuki explained.
Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said that the government would continue to build MRT and LRT to improve urban connectivity.
