$3.8b transportation studies proposed

$3.8b transportation studies proposed

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In an effort to improve access to cities in border regions, the
Ministry of Transportation has conducted feasibility studies on
transportation in those areas so that they will not lag behind
those in Java.

The studies, funded by a grant from the Asian Development Bank
(ADB), came up with 26 projects worth US$3.8 billion for air,
land and sea transportation.

"Transportation development in these regions should be
implemented with good coordination and integration between the
central government and regional administrations," Minister of
Transportation Hatta Radjasa said on Wednesday in a speech at a
seminar on the studies.

He said his ministry had led many initiatives to support the
acceleration of development in border areas.

The studies cover the connections of two ASEAN sub-regions:
the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) and the
Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area
(BIMP-EAGA).

The IMT-GT stretches from Thailand down to Malaysia and
includes the Indonesian provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra, West
Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra and Bengkulu.

Meanwhile BIMP-EAGA covers Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines
and all the Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku
and Papua.

The bulk of the proposed projects were two railway projects in
Sumatra Island connecting Muaro-Dumai-Duri-Rantau Prapat worth
some US$2.5 billion and another in Kalimantan linking Pontianak
and Sambas in West Kalimantan to Kuching in Malaysia worth some
$425 million.

This left about $901 million to finance the other proposed
projects.

Study team leader Ken Kumazawa told The Jakarta Post that
three of the 26 projects should be the highest priority,
considering their economic potential.

The three are the improvement of Medan-Penang ferry route
using the existing service; the construction of Pontianak-Kuching
road and railway; and the improvement of sea routes linking
Manado and Bitung in North Sulawesi to General Santos and Davao
in the Philippines.

Kumazawa also said that such projects were needed to reduce
the disparity of development between Java and other islands.

"The Indonesian government used to concentrate everything,
from industries to toll roads, in Java which was good for
efficiency. All the money was in Java after all," he said.

The Indonesian government will need around $150 billion for
infrastructure development during the next five years. Some $25
billion, or 17 percent, is expected from the state budget; $30
billion from domestic finance institutions; $10 billion from
foreign donors; and $80 billion in bulk from private and foreign
investors.

Some of the 26 transportation projects were put up for
investment at the just-concluded Infrastructure Summit. During
the summit, the government invited investors to take part in 91
infrastructure projects worth $22 billion.