Joint infrastructure projects poorly implemented: Rahardi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government pays too little attention to the
\nimprovement of efficiency in the implementation of infrastructure
\nprojects undertaken in cooperation with the private sector, a
\nsenior official said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Over the past two years, a number of state-owned companies
\nhave offered several projects for development in cooperation with
\nprivate firms but the development of some of them has not run
\nsmoothly because of inadequate preparation,\" Deputy Chairman of
\nthe National Development Planning Board Rahardi Ramelan told a
\nseminar here.<\/p>\n
He said that the government's attention was focused mostly on
\nthe financial aspects of cooperative projects.<\/p>\n
\"For instance, the initiatives to invite private firms to
\nparticipate in electricity and clean water projects is focusing
\nmerely on the creation of larger capacity, but efficient means of
\ndistribution has not been well-prepared,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that, if financing were the only problem, the
\ngovernment could raise funds on the capital market.<\/p>\n
\"The state-owned manager of toll roads, PT Jasa Marga, and the
\nelectricity provider, PT PLN, have been successful in floating
\nbonds, while PT Indosat, the state-owned international
\ntelecommunications operator has also floated its shares on
\ndomestic and international bourses successfully,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Rahardi, floating shares is one of the most
\ntransparent ways of raising funds from the public.<\/p>\n
Transportation<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto told
\nthe seminar -- on opportunities for private firms in
\ninfrastructure development -- that the attitude of the management
\npersonnel of state-owned firms needed to improve.<\/p>\n
\"They should be more professional. I find that some the
\ndecision-makers in the companies supervised by my office are less
\nthan professional. They often suspend meetings for negotiations,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Haryanto said that there were many opportunities for private
\nsector companies to cooperate with the government or its firms in
\nthe development of air, land and sea transportation.<\/p>\n
\"In air transportation, for instance, we plan to relocate the
\nairports in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara; Medan, North Sumatra; and
\nSamarinda, East Kalimantan. We will also refurbish the airports
\nin Manado, North Sulawesi; Ambon, Maluku; Ujungpandang, South
\nSulawesi; Bandung, West Java; Surabaya, East Java; and Surakarta
\nand Semarang, Central Java,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Some of the projects had already involved private firms at the
\ndesign stage, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We have an inventory of 126 projects whose development can be
\noffered to private sector companies and 74 of them have already
\nreceived commitments from certain parties,\" he said, adding that
\nthe other 52 projects, which had not received commitments,
\nincluded container ports in Cirebon, West Java; integrated
\nterminals in Bandung, West Java, and Surabaya, East Java; a
\npassenger terminal at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta; a container
\nterminal in Palembang, South Sumatra; and an integrated loading
\nterminal at Belawan port in North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
In land transportation, the projects included railway
\nfacilities in East Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumatra, he said.<\/p>\n
The president of the state railway company Perumka, Soemino
\nEko Saputro, said that a feasibility study was currently being
\nconducted regarding the introduction of a high-speed express
\ntrain which would link Jakarta and Surabaya within three or four
\nhours.<\/p>\n
The fastest Jakarta-Surabaya train trip currently takes nine
\nhours. (icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/joint-infrastructure-projects-poorly-implemented-rahardi-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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