Development on infrastructure projects planned
JAKARTA (JP): Asian countries will spend some US$2.5 trillion for the development of infrastructures, including transportation, energy, railway, telecommunication and electricity, by the year 2000, officials said.
Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade Hartarto said in a press conference yesterday that infrastructure development is of fundamental importance to the continued social and economic growth in the region.
He said that Asian governments, however, cannot finance all of the infrastructure developments.
"The funds are limited," he said.
The Indonesian government, therefore, will conduct a five-day meeting between Asian government officials and world business leaders to discuss the financing of infrastructure projects.
The conference, entitled "World Infrastructure Forum: Asia 1994," will be held in Jakarta on Oct. 17-21, during which more than 700 delegates and 300 exhibitors from some 20 countries are expected to take part.
Hartarto said the forum is designed to accelerate the pace of infrastructure development throughout Asia by improving cooperation between the public and private sectors.
Contributions
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, who attended yesterday's press conference, said private sector companies are expected to contribute 44 percent of the total budget of Rp 28.6 trillion ($13.18 billion) in developing transportation projects in Indonesia during the sixth Five Year Development Plan (Repelita VI) period, which began in April.
Besides Haryanto, yesterday's meeting was also attended by Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar and Secretary General of the Ministry of Mines and Energy Umar Said as well as the conference's organizer, Andrew J. Way.
"The private sector's contribution will be the biggest part because the government will contribute only 16 percent, state- owned enterprises 12.5 percent and foreign creditors 27 percent," Haryanto said.
All of the ministers said that they had agreed to jointly support the conference.
"This is the first conference of such a huge size.... I'd be the first to scream and fight back if something happened to prevent the conference," Joop bluntly said.
Way, the managing director of the Singapore-based Development Forum Administrations Pte. Ltd., told The Jakarta Post that over $4 million will be spent to conduct the conference.
He said that President Soeharto of Indonesia, President Fidel Ramos of the Philippines and Deputy Prime Minister Brian Howe of Australia, will address the World Infrastructure Forum.
A number of high ranking officials of Asian and other countries will be speakers at the conference, including Richard Hu of Singapore, Ngo Xuan Loc of Vietnam, Rizalino S. Navarro of the Philippines, Ali Abdul Hassan bin Sulaiman of Malaysia, Sethaporn Cusripituck of Thailand, Mohd Ramli Kushairi of Malaysia, Hyung Koo- lee of South Korea, Ralph Evans of Australia and Dianne Ruddo of the United States.
Way said that chief executive officers from 30 multinational corporations will also be speaking at the forum.
Hartarto also announced the agreement to reestablish a committee to promote cooperation between the public and the private sector.
The forum is the first of a series of events which are planned to take place in South America and Europe before returning to Asia again in 1996 or 1997. (09)