JAKARTA - The Central Board of the Indonesian National Construction Implementation Association (Gapensi) expressed its disappointment over the issuance of Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 2 of 2025 concerning accelerating the development and rehabilitation of irrigation networks to support food self-sufficiency.
Chairman of BPP Gapensi Andi Rukman Karumpa said the policy has the potential to marginalize local construction business actors, especially those from the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector.
Andi said the Presidential Instruction has the potential to reduce the participation space of SME construction service business actors in government strategic projects. One of the points highlighted is the provisions in Section Two, Letter 4, Letter J, which states that the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing is implementing irrigation network development and maintenance projects through a self-management mechanism or direct appointment to State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN).
"We deeply regret the existence of Presidential Instruction Number 2 of 2025 which makes a lot of work in the food self-sufficiency sector, including primary and secondary irrigation, as well as rice fields printing programs, fully managed or appointed directly to SOEs," said Andi, in his statement, Friday, July 18.
Andi added, such an implementation model will eliminate the participation space for small and medium-scale construction actors who have been actively contributing to infrastructure development in various regions. This, according to him, is further exacerbated by a similar tendency in other projects, such as school revitalization.
"For school revitalization work alone, we note that there have been many direct appointments to SOEs, with each SOE receiving project allocations of up to Rp. 2 trillion. If this continues, local construction service business actors will be eliminated further," he added.
Andi also revealed that the Presidential Instruction contradicts the spirit of Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 46 of 2025 concerning the Procurement of Goods and Services, which actually provides wider space for the SME sector to be involved in government projects. Gapensi itself had previously welcomed the issuance of Presidential Decree 46/2025 as a form of President Prabowo Subianto's commitment to strengthening the role of construction SMEs.
"Gappensi really appreciates Presidential Decree No. 46 of 2025 for providing new hope for construction SMEs. But with the issuance of Presidential Instruction No. 2, that spirit has become reduced," Andi continued.
Andi also said that until the middle of this year, the majority of Gapensi members had not yet found physical construction work. 92 percent of Gapensi members came from the SME sector who had not obtained projects until the second quarter of 2025. Today we were surprised by the many jobs taken over by the government and given directly to BUMN," said Andi.
As a result of the lack of access to projects, the number of Gapensi members has also decreased significantly.
"In the past, our members were 80 thousand, now there are 12,200 left because the government's policies in the last 10 years have been impartial to construction service actors, especially construction MSME actors," said Andi.
Andi assessed that the government's decision to rely too much on SOEs in the implementation of infrastructure projects, including irrigation, shows that the private sector, especially SMEs, is unable to complete national priority programs such as Asta Cita. However, according to Andi, the government should continue to provide a fair portion for local construction business actors.
"Perhaps the government thinks that the number of construction service business entities will not be able to complete the Asta Cita program. But don't forget, the construction SMEs have been the spearhead of development in the regions, absorb labor, and drive the local economy. Don't let them be eliminated," said Andi.
In response to this situation, Gapensi plans to hold hearings with various state institutions and related ministries.
BACA JUGA:
"We will directly convey this issue to the MPR, the Minister of PUPR, the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, to the Minister of MSMEs. From the beginning, Gapensi was committed to being at the forefront of guarding the vision of Asta Cita Presiden Prabowo Subianto. But we should also be given space to contribute," he said.
As a solution, Gapensi suggested that the government implement two project implementation schemes as a middle ground: small-value projects to be processed through e-Catalog systems and open tenders to involve construction SMEs, while self-management schemes can be implemented for large-scale projects that do require BUMN capacity.
"If all the small jobs are managed or given to SOEs, then what is the role of the private sector? We ask the government not to take all portion of the work. Give space to construction SMEs so that they can continue to live and grow," said Andi.
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