RI building boom could mean big business for Australia
RI building boom could mean big business for Australia
SYDNEY (AFP): An Australian minister yesterday urged the
country's building firms to tap into Indonesia's housing boom.
"To guarantee the ongoing viability of an industry which
employs, directly and indirectly, 500,000 Australians, it is
imperative that we link into the housing and construction boom
occurring just to our north," said Administrative Services
Minister Frank Walker
At a conference on building business opportunities in
Indonesia, Walker noted that country's plans for more than 18
million new homes by 2020.
He said Australia could use the advantages of being close and
having similar environmental conditions.
But firms should not "expect to put in a tender, build a
building and pack up your tools to come home."
"Relationships must first be nurtured, trust and respect
developed, and diverse needs recognized and fulfilled," Walker
said.
"Many opportunities exist for dynamic Australian firms. But
business people must deliver business orientated solutions,
relevant to the Indonesian market," he added.
"Indonesia demands quality products, service, skills transfer,
environmental sensitivity and an integrated approach to building
development, " Walker told the audience, which included 20
Indonesian officials.
Indonesia's building targets over the next five years include
500,000 units of low cost housing in urban areas, 300,000 units
in rural areas, and large-scale urban renewal in 125 cities, the
conference heard.
Hendro Moeljono, director general of the research and
development agency at Indonesia's public works ministry, said
being a partner with Australia would have significant benefits,
particularly in investment and building prefabrication areas.
"For Australia, the big market for construction industry in
Indonesia is quite challenging," he said.
"It will extend job opportunities as well as providing the
stepping stone for marketing construction technology to the far
East," he added.