Half of 2003 budget for eastern provinces

DENPASAR, Bali: The State Minister of the Acceleration of Development in Eastern Indonesia Manuel Kaisiepo said on Friday that half of the nation's development funds allocated in the 2003 budget would be utilized to finance development in the country's eastern regions.

Manuel said that it was the decision of the government in drafting the 2003 budget.

However, he did not provide further details.

He only said that 15 provinces were included in the eastern regions, covering 75 percent of the country's total land area, and 20 percent of the country's total population. --Antara