Yesterday's Headlines: Post-Disaster Rehabilitation Costs Across Sumatra to First-Quarter Economic Outlook
Jakarta (ANTARA) — A range of economic developments from Thursday (19 February) remain pertinent for review, spanning post-disaster rehabilitation costs across three Sumatran provinces to projections of robust economic growth in the first quarter of 2026.
The following is a summary of selected reports.
Bappenas: Post-Disaster Rehabilitation in Sumatra to Cost Rp56.3 Trillion
The Ministry of National Development Planning (PPN/Bappenas) has reported that the total funding requirement for ministerial and institutional action plans for post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra stands at Rp56.3 trillion, encompassing 2,108 activities over the next three years.
“This already broadly matches what is needed by each regional government and what has been designed by our colleagues at the central level,” said Bappenas Deputy for Regional Development Medrilzam, whilst presenting the Master Plan for Accelerated Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for the provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra at the Bappenas building in Jakarta on Thursday.
Prabowo Invites US Businesses to Invest in Indonesia
President Prabowo Subianto, during a meeting with the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC), the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and the US-Indonesia Society (USINDO) at the USCC building in Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon local time, invited American business leaders to do business and invest in Indonesia.
During the meeting, which was also attended by representatives from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) along with several ministers and senior state-owned enterprise officials, President Prabowo highlighted a number of priority programmes currently being implemented by the government, particularly 18 downstream processing projects.
Transport Ministry: Pilot of Charter Plane That Crashed in Nunukan Has Died
The Ministry of Transport confirmed that the pilot of a Pelita Air charter aircraft carrying fuel that crashed in the Nunukan area of North Kalimantan has died.
“The latest information we received at 15:16 Central Indonesian Time is that the pilot, Captain Hendrick Lodewyck Adam, has been declared deceased,” said Director General of Civil Aviation Lukman F. Laisa when contacted in Jakarta on Thursday.
Forestry Minister: Social Forestry a Lever for Community Welfare
Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni stated that social forestry serves as a lever for the welfare of impoverished communities living near forests, whilst simultaneously promoting forest conservation and sustainable local economic growth.
“I believe I am increasingly optimistic that social forestry will become one of our methods for leveraging community welfare,” the Minister said on the sidelines of a Lesson Learned Workshop entitled ‘Moving from the Ground: Sowing Inclusive Social Forestry for Sustainable Forests and Prosperous Communities’ in Jakarta on Thursday.
Bank Indonesia: High Economic Growth to Continue in Q1 2026
Bank Indonesia (BI) projects that higher economic growth will continue into the first quarter of 2026, underpinned by rising consumption driven in part by government stimulus measures and a looser monetary policy stance.
The first three months of this year coincide with several national religious holidays, which are expected to boost economic activity, including Lunar New Year, Nyepi Day and Eid al-Fitr 1447 H.
“We see that Indonesia’s economic growth in the first quarter will remain high,” said BI Governor Perry Warjiyo during a press conference following the BI Board of Governors’ Meeting, held online from Jakarta on Thursday.