Investment Licenses Have Tripled Under Joko's Presidency: BKPM
Jakarta. Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board, or BKPM, has issued as much as Rp 335 trillion ($25 billion) worth of investment licenses for infrastructure projects since last October.
This is triple the figure for the same period a year earlier, although the realization rate of those investments remains in question.
“The data show that President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla’s efforts in promoting the government’s plan and commitment for infrastructure projects, especially in electricity and ports, are starting to show results,” BKPM chief Franky Sibarani said in a statement on Monday.
“BKPM will work to facilitate the realization process in attempts to minimize potential roadblocks or problems.”
Franky said his team had identified 67 potential investors in the infrastructure sector. Thirty-nine out of the 67 potential investors have outlined roughly $47.7 billion worth of investment, according to the BKPM chief.
President Joko Widodo, who was elected into office in October last year, has been criticized for failing to speed up work on Indonesia’s infrastructure projects.
He has been working hard to attract investment at home and from abroad, but work on key projects has been delayed by bureaucratic infighting and age-old issues like land disputes.
Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro revealed last month that the government had only spent 8 percent of its infrastructure budget in the first six months of this year — approximately Rp 23.2 trillion of the Rp 290.3 trillion budgeted.
The president's five-year plan includes generation of an additional 35,000 megawatts of electric power and 24 new deep sea ports across Indonesia.
Taking cues from the president, BKPM has placed infrastructure projects — especially electricity and ports — at the top of its priority list.
The investment coordinating board is aiming for investment growth of 12 percent to Rp 519.5 trillion this year, with more than 60 percent of the sum coming from overseas. The target excludes investment in the petroleum and banking sectors.
GlobeAsia
Tags: Keywords: