Minister Basuki Wants to Increase Indonesia-Australia Cooperation in the Field of Infrastructure

JAKARTA - The Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono attended the inauguration of the new Indonesia Australia Partnership for Infrastructure (KIAT) office at the Standard Chartered Tower, Jakarta, on Monday, May 22.

Bilateral relations between the Governments of Indonesia and Australia are well established, so that both countries' hopes for infrastructure development in Indonesia can be realized.

Minister Basuki expressed his appreciation for the cooperation that has existed between the two countries in the infrastructure sector, in which the PUPR Ministry and KIAT have collaborated in the fields of roads, clean water, sanitation, and the Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.

"What's unique about KIAT is not only partnering with the PUPR Ministry in the physical development program, but also introducing new regulatory concepts to us assisted by KIAT, such as PPP and local road grants," said Basuki via written statement, Tuesday, May 23.

Basuki hopes that the new office will not only provide work space for KIAT employees, but also be a means to improve bilateral relations between the Ministry of PUPR and the Australian Government in increasing collaboration in infrastructure development in Indonesia.

"Once again, thank you for KIAT's support so far, and for the future (in the future) I think we can enhance this cooperation for the progress of Indonesia," he said.

Meanwhile, Director of KIAT Facilities Steven Chaytor said, a number of concrete collaborations that have been and will be carried out between the Government of Indonesia through the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) with funding from the Australian Government, one of which is the Provincial Road Improvement and Maintenance program, namely a program that provides grants based on performance and improvement. capacity for the development of regional roads in West Nusa Tenggara Province, West Lombok Regency, and Probolinggo Regency.

"We also run the Regional Road Grant Program by providing technical assistance for road asset management systems and supporting local government capacity for road repairs," he said.

In addition, a program for the construction of the Pejagan-Cilacap Toll Road is also being prepared which integrates climate-resistant design, the construction of a Palembang wastewater treatment plant and network, a program to improve the technical and financial performance of BUMD Water Drinking, and the completion of a sub-national road maintenance project.