Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto revealed that Indonesia is the country with the largest economy in ASEAN and also has strong and stable economic growth, which should be a strong reason for the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB) to expand operations and increase support for infrastructure projects in Indonesia.
Airlangga said that there are several project priorities that can be supported by financing, including the extension of the high speed train from Bandung, Yogyakarta to Surabaya, the Giant Sea Wall project along the North Coast of Java, connectivity projects in the southern part of Java Island, as well as several energy transition projects.
Airlangga conveyed specifically for development in the southern region of Java, ConNectivity in the south of Java Island offers new economic opportunities that need attention," said Airlangga in his statement, Thursday, October 10.
This was conveyed during a Bilateral Meeting with AIIB President Jin Liqun, on the sidelines of the ASEAN 2024 Summit in Vientiane, Laos, Wednesday, October 9.
AIIB is committed to developing connectivity in a broad sense, including in the digital and electricity sectors. Currently, there are a number of multi-year pipeline projects in Indonesia that need to receive support from the relevant Ministries/Institutions.
Given that Indonesia is prone to disasters, AIIB also offers infrastructure projects to mitigate natural disasters such as flood control projects.
Airlangga welcomed the existence of AIIB, which has played an important role in financing infrastructure projects in the region.
As for now, there are 14 projects in Indonesia financed by AIIB and there are 7 other projects that are still waiting for financing approval, including toll road projects, bridges, housing, wind power electricity to waste processing, spread across various regions throughout Indonesia.
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Furthermore, Airlangga conveyed ASEAN's commitment to strengthening connectivity in the field of electricity through the ASEAN Power Grid, as well as the hydropower project in North Kalimantan which is part of the initiative.
In the future, Airlangga said that electricity connectivity from Sumatra will be connected to Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia, to the mainland of the Asian continent. Meanwhile, in other parts, this electricity project will connect Java-Kalimantan to Malaysia and Brunei.
Airlangga also encouraged AIIB to open an office in Indonesia. Apart from being the largest economy in ASEAN, Indonesia also has the largest infrastructure project compared to all ASEAN countries, and has many collaborative projects with AIIB.
"So it is appropriate for AIIB to open a representative office in Indonesia," Airlangga concluded.
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