VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Sigli-Banda Aceh (Sibanceh) Toll Road Section 4 of the Blang Bintang-Indrapuri toll road in Aceh Besar District, Aceh. ANTARA / Khalis

Infrastructure development is part of the government's strategies to speed up the process of the nation’s economic recovery, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"Under such conditions, infrastructure development is one of the strategies that provide leverage to accelerate national economic recovery," the president remarked while inaugurating the Sigli-Banda Aceh Section 4 Toll Road for the Indrapuri-Blang Bintang section in Aceh Besar District, Aceh, Tuesday, as witnessed virtually.

The president cited as an example that construction of the toll road connecting Aceh to Lampung along 2,765 kilometers will encourage economic growth and equity in Sumatra.

In addition, toll road construction can boost efficiency and workforce absorption.

The head of state remarked that despite the Indonesian nation reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, infrastructure development will continue nonetheless since Indonesia still lags behind other countries in this area.

Underdeveloped infrastructure leads to the logistics costs becoming more expensive than those of other countries.

"This is what lowers our competitiveness in comparison with our neighboring countries," the president added. (ANTARA)