Summit only produces 3 winners bidders so far<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
With the country in dire need of fresh investment in the
\ninfrastructure sector, the government has only managed to drum up
\nthree winning bidders for turnpike projects out of the total of
\n91 projects on offer during the first Indonesian Infrastructure
\nSummit held nine months ago.<\/p>\n
Of the remaining 88 projects, some 42 projects worth US$12.5
\nbillion, are at the final stages of the tender process.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said on
\nTuesday at a preparatory seminar for the second Infrastructure
\nSummit that a number of Australian companies had expressed
\ninterest in developing turnpike projects, while Japanese
\ncompanies such as Sumitomo and Mitsubishi had expressed interest
\nin power generation projects. Meanwhile, Chinese and U.S. firms
\nhad bid for projects in the oil and gas sector.<\/p>\n
The government had hoped to attract a total of $21 billion in
\ninvestment on the back of the first Infrastructure Summit, with
\nthe projects expected to be completed within the next five years.<\/p>\n
Aburizal reiterated the importance of infrastructural
\ndevelopment if sustainable economic growth was to be achieved,
\nunemployment reduced and poverty alleviated.<\/p>\n
"The government has identified infrastructural development as
\nthe primary means for achieving annual economic growth averaging
\n6.6 percent over the next five years," he said.<\/p>\n
"Developing the country's infrastructure, however, will need
\nsome $140 billion. While the government can finance up to 20
\npercent of this, the rest must come from the private sector," he
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
For this, the government had been working on improving the
\ncountry's business climate to attract more investors to the
\ninfrastructure sector, including improving the legislative
\nframeworks in the power, highway and water sectors, as well as
\nland acquisition. The government is also preparing an
\ninfrastructure funding scheme and a risk management unit for
\ninvestors.<\/p>\n
As regards the role of local administrations, Aburizal
\nexpressed the hope that they would support the second summit by
\noffering infrastructure project opportunities in their regions
\nand collaborate with the government in preparing the tenders for
\nthese projects.<\/p>\n
"The bidding must be conducted in a fair, transparent and
\naccountable manner," he said.<\/p>\n
Aburizal also expressed the hope that the regions would be
\nwilling to provide a return rate of between 20 percent and 25
\npercent for investors involved in local-currency projects and
\nrepeal any regulations that could cause them concern.<\/p>\n
State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani
\nIndrawati highlighted the importance of local administrations
\nworking together with each other to effectively develop their
\ninfrastructural needs.<\/p>\n
"There is a tendency for regions to compete with each other in
\nbuilding their own ports and airports," she said.<\/p>\n
"Competition between regions in attracting investment should
\nnot result in chasing after just prestigious projects, but
\nforgetting their duties to improve public welfare."<\/p>\n
Mulyani also mentioned the importance of local administrations
\nin focusing on the future maintenance of infrastructure projects
\nin their regions.<\/p>\n
The government plans to hold the second Infrastructure Summit
\nnext February after postponing it from November due to
\nunfavorable economic conditions caused by rising oil prices.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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