Involve Small Contractors, Regional Contractors, and SMEs, President Jokowi Says
President Joko Jokowi Widodo affirmed that since the beginning, the Government thinks that infrastructure
development is important to improve economic equality and justice for all Indonesian people.
Infrastructure development also provides job opportunities as well as gives chances to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the regions to grow, the President said in his remarks at the 2017 Financial Closing of Non-State Budget Infrastructure Funding (PINA), at the State Palace, Jakarta, on Friday (17/2).
Therefore, the President welcomed financial closing of Waskita Toll Road as the first project of PINA. Hopefully, it would be a good start since the funding for this project that worth Rp70 trillion has been speeded up.
The President firmly said that during 5 years, the Government wants to concentrate on infrastructure development because Indonesia has been left behind and losing its competitiveness.
I have told you several times. Our focus is infrastructure. I believe that infrastructure will bring investment and equality for our people, the President said while adding every development must need manpower as well as other supporting facilities.
Thanks to infrastructure development, for example sea toll road, an unbusy port that is not regularly visited by ships now becomes busier and the ships come regularly.
What is the effect? I directly hear it from the people, they can sell coconut of copra. Why? Because sellers come to buy copra from their surrounding villages. The sellers can bring these commodities because there are ships that have precise schedule, the President said.
Therefore, President Jokowi asked all to have a broader way of thinking about this toll road. When it finishes, it can speed up peoples and goods mobilty that eventually will decrease the price in the regions passed by the toll road.
On that occasion, the President also asked to involve small contractors as well as SMEs in the regions in building the infrastructures,so economic equality is manifested, the President concluded. (FID/RAH/ES)(MMB/YM/Naster)