Coordinating Minister Airlangga Says Construction Industry Needs Modern Business Process

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs (Menko) Airlangga Hartarto. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that massive and equitable infrastructure development is one of Indonesia's main capitals to be able to get out of the middle income trap while providing a multiplier effect in encouraging national economic growth.

"The construction industry in the future is also expected to have good prospects, along with the national economic fundamentals which are quite resilient," he explained in his statement, Wednesday, November 1.

In the 2024 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget Draft (RAPBN), an infrastructure budget of IDR 422.7 trillion has been set which is directed to accelerate and equalize development.

Airlangga said that infrastructure development in its implementation must be sustainable by taking into account the carrying capacity of natural resources (SDA), disaster vulnerability, and the welfare of the surrounding community.

According to Airlangga, sustainable infrastructure development can be realized not only by implementing various environmentally friendly technologies, but also by efficiency in the use of resources, creating innovations, and involving the local community in various construction processes.

"This condition requires the transformation of traditional construction processes into modern processes with a touch of digital technology in each section of the construction process," said Airlangga.

When compared to the banking sector and a number of other sectors, the construction sector is one sector that has not adopted digital technology much. The construction industry in the last ten years still relies heavily on old or decades old business models.

"So, we have to start adopting and getting used to digitalization in planning, management, and implementation, as well as making more data-based decisions," said Airlangga.

Airlangga said that in order to realize the development of sustainable infrastructure based on digital transformation, there are several prerequisites that must be met, namely collaborative thinking patterns, vision and leadership missions in the digital field, policies that are easy to implement, and reliable human resources (HR).