VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 18 - Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, has underlined the importance of adequate infrastructure in efforts to support inclusive and sustainable development in Indonesia.

"Issues related to the pandemic, climate change, and digital technology bring up challenges in the way of inclusive and sustainable development; one of the solutions is infrastructure," she said during a webinar in Jakarta on Thursday.

The pandemic has pushed stakeholders to make improvements and change their business models to ensure that productivity remains stable, the minister observed.

For that reason, infrastructure has become the most important factor in an era of disruption, especially that of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), as it plays a role in strengthening connectivity, Indrawati stated.

"However, there are still areas that are without internet connection. There are still schools and health centers that are not connected to the internet. For this reason, the government is focusing on developing ICT infrastructure," she said.

In addition, provision of roads, electricity, ports, and airports along with social infrastructure, such as water supply and sanitation, are also imperative in efforts to boost welfare, she pointed out.

The next challenge will be to obtain financing so that the provision of physical and social infrastructure for communication, education, and health can be fulfilled for the community, Indrawati said.

She said she has ensured that infrastructure financing can not only be obtained from the state budget, due to limited fiscal space, but also from the involvement of the private sector and other forms of cooperation.

"If there are limitations, we invite private capital. Indonesia has focused on overcoming the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) with structural reforms, including formulating a Job Creation Law and creating an Investment Management Institution," she added.

She also emphasized that through this effort, Indonesia can develop infrastructure that could create a digital business environment and make the economy grow more inclusively and sustainably.  (Antaranews)