Indonesia woos infrastructure investors

Indonesia woos infrastructure investors

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP): Indonesia wants foreign companies
to bid for up to US$11 billion of transport infrastructure
development over the next five years, Indonesian Communications
Minister Haryanto Dhanutirto said yesterday.

Haryanto, who has special responsibility for non-road
infrastructure development, including ports and airports, told a
trade conference here his government wanted investment through
joint ventures with state-owned companies.

"The patterns of cooperation could be in the forms of joint
venture, management contract, or joint operation through either
build-operate-transfer or build-operate-own," he said.

Haryanto said the private sector had been playing an important
role in developing and maintaining transportation infrastructure
in Indonesia.

"For the running of special business activities -- such as
special services, special seaports, special airports -- licenses
from government are needed and technical guidance will be
provided by the Department of Communications."

He cited a five-year development plan known as the Repelita
VI, which he said envisaged $17 billion investment in
transportation infrastructure.

"It is projected that the government share will account for 14
percent of the total budget and the foreign loan contributes 21
percent, so that the state-owned companies and the national as
well as international private sectors will be encouraged to
finance 65 percent of the total budget," he said.

Indonesia, with 192 million people and rapid economic growth,
has been steadily deregulating its economy including loosening
controls on foreign investment two years ago.

It is one of Australia's major trading partners, with
Australian exports of $2 billion last year.

Australia is also the seventh largest investor in Indonesia in
terms of the number of projects, although investment is still
largely concentrated in the mining sector.