Indonesia Seeks to Follow-Up Infrastructure Investment Offer to China

JAKARTA - President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) once offered a number of infrastructure investment projects to the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping in the Belt and Road Forum 2017 Summit. To follow up, the Minister of National Development Planning (PPN) / Head of Bappenas Bambang PS Brodjonegoro conduct a working visit to China.

The People's Republic of China is offered a bid to undertake a number of infrastructure investment projects in North Sumatra, North Kalimantan and North Sulawesi. To realise the acceleration of infrastructure development, Bambang Brodjonegoro is also accompanied by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan.

"I and the Coordinating Minister of Maritime want to immediately follow up the results of previous Belt and Road Forum meetings so the acceleration of infrastructure development can be realised," said Minister of PPN/Bappenas Bambang Brodjonegoro in a press release (16/6/2017).

The Indonesian government wants to maximise its cooperation with the Chinese Government in infrastructure development and connectivity in the form of toll roads, railways, airports, ports, maritime, clean energy, and tourism. Many potential investment projects to offer and follow-up to become commitments in business deals.

Currently, the government is focusing on developing infrastructure projects outside of Java, which in turn makes economic growth in Indonesia not based on Java. Bambang explained, "Broadly speaking, the goal is to have a balance of economic growth between Java and outside Java. It requires a huge investment. "

More details Bambang explained if the current investment is not sufficient then it will seek to find a new source. Therefore, Chinese investment is encouraged to enter outside Java, especially in areas relevant to Belt and Road.

In this visit, China Development Bank is invited to continue to increase its investment in Indonesia. In addition to being invited to engage in infrastructure development activities, investors are also required to invest (direct financing) through cooperation with local partners in Indonesia, including state-owned enterprises.