VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a loan worth US$ 150 million to support facilities that can accelerate Indonesia's economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. This loan will later become a catalyst for government and private funding in supporting green and viable infrastructure projects in order to help Indonesia achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Sustainable Development Goals Indonesia One-Green Finance Facility (SIO-GFF) which is the first time in Southeast Asia aims to finance at least 10 projects with a minimum of 70 percent of the financing supporting green infrastructure and the rest supporting the SDGs.

Head of ADB's Green and Innovative Financing Unit for Southeast Asia, Anouj Mehta in a statement in Jakarta Wednesday (16/2) said that the SIO-GFF is intended to be a catalyst for up to eight times the funds he invests in supporting climate-friendly infrastructure and assisting Indonesia's progress towards the SDGs. Anouj Mehta also ensures that this facility will design viable projects to attract funding to complement government spending including from private/institutional and commercial sources. He said the loan to the Indonesian government would be forwarded again to PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur -PT SMI, a state-owned institution for infrastructure financing that will manage the facility.

ADB has also approved technical assistance to help strengthen PT SMI's ability to operate the facility and expand PT SMI's services to support other borrowers and catalyze private funding. The US$1.2 million in technical assistance came from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and US$375,000 from the Luxembourg Financial Sector Development Partnership Special Fund.

According to the ADB report, Indonesia's annual infrastructure financing needs from 2016 to 2020 after including the climate change component are estimated at an average of around US$74 billion with the annual infrastructure financing gap reaching US$51 billion. Overall, the project is in line with Indonesia's 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and follows ADB's country partnership strategy for Indonesia 2020–2024 which focuses on accelerating economic recovery and strengthening resilience.