Summit kicks off, offers $22b projects

Summit kicks off, offers $22b projects

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The much-anticipated Infrastructure Summit, in which the
government will offer 91 infrastructure projects worth US$22.5
billion, kicks off on Monday -- a crucial test to gauge
investors' interest in the country.

The government, which has seen investors fleeing in droves
over the past several years, will offer projects spanning across
the archipelago during the 2005-2009 period in priority sectors
such as toll roads, gas pipelines, power, airports, seaports, tap
water, railroads and telecommunications.

The massive projects are designed to lure investment and boost
economic indices, particularly employment, in accordance with
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's goal of pushing annual
average growth over 6 percent.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie told a
press briefing on Sunday that the country would need up to $150
billion -- an upward revision from the $75 billion -- to finance
the infrastructure-related projects in the next five years.

Of the total, one-third will be funded by domestic sources
including the state budget, while multilateral lenders are
expected to contribute some $10 billion, leaving global private
investors to kick in for the $90 billion that remains.

"The $22.5 billion worth of projects on offer at the summit
are the first batch of the $90 billion. We'll offer other
projects, which will be worth $57.5 billion, in the second batch
scheduled for November," Aburizal said.

Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa also said that among
the projects offered, nine of them would come from his office.

Those projects comprise the overhaul of Soekarno-Hatta
international airport, the construction of new airports in Medan,
North Sumatra; Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara and Makassar, South
Sulawesi.

For seaports, the projects include the construction of the
Jakarta New Port, Bojonegara port in Banten, Balikpapan port in
East Kalimantan and the Lamong Bay port which forms part of the
extension project of Tanjung Perak port of Surabaya.

Hatta said that the government also would offer the
construction of a rail network from Soekarno-Hatta International
Airport to Manggarai station in South Jakarta.