Government to spend $1.82b for infrastructure projects
Government to spend $1.82b for infrastructure projects
The government will spend Rp 18 trillion (about US$1.82 billion)
next year for a range of infrastructure projects including
irrigation, roads, dams and bridges, to help drive higher
economic growth and reduce employment.
The expenditure would exclude funds required for toll road
projects and telecommunications infrastructure, which could be
sufficiently provided by the private sector, Minister of Public
Works Djoko Kirmanto said on Monday.
"The funds, which would all be taken from the state budget,
will be allocated for infrastructure projects throughout the
country," said Djoko after meeting President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono.
This year, the government has allocated Rp 12.78 trillion for
infrastructure projects, excluding those for reconstruction works
in tsunami-stricken Nangroe Aceh Darussalam and parts of North
Sumatra.
Next year's planned expenditure would also exclude such
projects.
Most of this year's funds, however, have not yet been realized
into projects, partly because of the implementation of a new
system in filing proposals for projects.
Recently installed Coordinating Minister for the Economy
Boediono has said the government would boost its spending for
development projects to help stimulate the economy, currently
facing a speed bump in the form of high interest rates.
The government will spend between Rp 10 trillion and Rp 15
trillion of undisbursed state funds from the 2005 budget during
next year's first quarter to help reactivate the real sector.
The government is counting on the private sector to revive
investment in the second half of the year, with the central bank
starting to gradually lower its lending rates.
The government is targeting the economy to grow by 6.2 percent
next year despite weakening purchasing power, high inflation and
interest rates, as well as the relatively unstable rupiah
exchange rate against the U.S. dollar.
The forecast is more optimistic than that of Bank Indonesia,
which predicts the economy to grow by between 5 percent and 5.7
percent next year. -- JP