Local Governments Asked to Develop Proper Infrastructure
BeritaJakarta.com, Jakarta – 02/12/2010
Although the genuine revenue (PAD) of each local government in Indonesia is different, but all the local governments are required to build adequate infrastructure as a step to attract private sector to make investment in their respective provinces.
"This is a dilemma felt by local governments; because if there is no adequate infrastructure, the private sector will not come," said Jakarta Capital City Governor Fauzi Bowo at the Indonesian Provincial Administrations Association (APPSI) Congress in Bandung, Thursday (2/12).
Fauzi added, there should be continuity between the central and local governments, so that the local governments did not serve as spectators only for foreign investment.
Fauzi also underlined the importance of good arrangement of assets as well as good financial capabilities of each local government. "Hopefully, it can also become the attention of the central government since we must be better prepared to move quickly in seeking breakthroughs," he stated
Deputy Minister of National Development Planning Agency (Bapenas), Lukita Dinarsyah Tuwo said the central government also wanted to achieve a balanced growth. Therefore, the government continued trying to to develop an integrated transportation arrangement including seaports and airports. The current imbalanced condition made the prices of commodities much more expensive, added Lukita.
"In the future, on every island, there will be a center of growth which is connected with proper transportation infrastructure. There are three levels of transportation, namely international and domestic transportation, as well as the transportation of big cities and small towns," explained Lukita. With an integrated transportation, the development in a large city can also be felt in smaller cities.