Excellent! Sri Mulyani Reaffirms IKN Development Commitment Not To Disturb The COVID-19 Budget

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Finance)

JAKARTA - The government through the Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani said that infrastructure development in a number of areas would continue to be carried out as part of the national economic recovery strategy.

According to the Minister of Finance, the same strategy will be applied in building the National Capital City (IKN), which is currently in the stage of forming the legal umbrella for the IKN Law.

“Calculation and fulfillment of IKN budget needs will remain in line with fiscal consolidation. The government will continue to ensure that this funding does not interfere with the handling of COVID-19 and the economic recovery program," he said in an official statement, quoted on Friday, January 7.

The Minister of Finance added that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had determined that the conditions for handling the pandemic and economic recovery would remain the foremost priority.

"This is a factor that will dominate our draft APBN in the 2022 period by anticipating the IKN Law, especially 2023 and 2024, such as for the General Election. So everything is balanced," he said.

For information, one of the sources of funds for the construction of infrastructure facilities at IKN comes from the issuance of State Sharia Securities (SBSN).

Total SBSN financing from 2013 to 2022 is known to reach Rp175.38 trillion. This value was poured on more than 4,247 projects spread across all provinces in Indonesia.

The largest allocation from SBSN was used for transportation infrastructure development projects, roads, bridges, and water resources which amounted to Rp144.26 trillion or equivalent to 82.25 percent of the total funds raised. The funds are also the main resource in building the Balang Island bridge which will later connect the Balikpapan area with IKN.

"Through the existence of this asset marker, it is hoped that it can be an example for the people who have been buying SBSN, which means they are participating in building Indonesia, including building this bridge," said the Minister of Finance.

The government itself claims that the realization of project financing through SBSN in 2021 is still quite good at 85.52 percent.

Furthermore, the rest of the work from all these projects will be continued this year, where the average realization of the continuation of the SBSN projects reaches 93 percent to 96 percent.

"By looking at the performance and strategic functions of SBSN so far, the government is optimistic and hopes that SBSN can become one of the main pillars of the State Budget instrument for national development as well as become the main instrument in the national financial market," concluded Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.