Infrastructure spending in Southeast Asia’s largest economy may total Rp 469.7 trillion ($39 billion) this year, according to an official from the Public Works Ministry. Hediyanto said the state budget would contribute Rp 208.7 trillion ($17 billion) to the total spending, followed by contributions from regional gov
Infrastructure spending in Southeast Asia's largest economy may total Rp 469.7 trillion ($39 billion) this year, according to an official from the Public Works Ministry.
Hediyanto said the state budget would contribute Rp 208.7 trillion ($17 billion) to the total spending, followed by contributions from regional governments, investment from state enterprises and the private sector with Rp 103.9 trillion ($8.6 billion), Rp 89.9 trillion ($7.5 billion)and Rp 67.2 trillion($5.6 billion), respectively.
“There is still a gap of around Rp 52 trillion ($4.3 billion) in our infrastructure spending,” the official added.
Hediyanto said the investment gap was due to limitations in the government budgets and the ministry is seeking to plug the discrepancies by inviting more foreign investment through public and private partnership.
He added that the country's construction market has been growing at double-digit rates for the past couple of years.
Indonesia has more than 106,000 units of heavy equipment, but more than 70,000 of them are located in the greater Jakarta area. From the total 117,000 contractors, more than 40% are based in Java.
Hediyanto lamented the lack of specialization among contractors.
“All of our contractors are general contractors, big or small. What we need in the future is a lot of small specialized contractors while the larger ones can remain as general contractors.”
The small number of certified professionals in the sector adds to the ministry's concerns with only 400,000 having any kind of certification out of a total workforce of some 6.9 million.