Infrastructure Becomes a Lever During the Pandemic

BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT/MUCHLIS JR

President Joko Widodo inaugurates Yogyakarta International Airport, which is located in Kulon Progo regency, Friday (28/8/2020). For the terminal, this new airport has an area of 219,000 square meters with a capacity of 20 million passengers per year. Yogyakarta International Airport is also designed to be resistant to earthquakes of up to 8.8 magnitude and to be able to withstand tsunami waves up to a height of 12 meters. The airport construction is also accompanied by the operation of AirNav and a tsunami early warning system. Accompanying the President at the inauguration ceremony were State Secretary Pratikno, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo.

Accelerating national strategic projects is one way to accelerate the recovery of the national economy, which has been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Infrastructure development is one of the government\'s strategies to boost national economic growth as well as economic recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic. Various road, bridge and airport construction projects have been continuously encouraged.

The continuation of infrastructure development was marked by the inauguration of Yogyakarta International Airport (BIY) by President Joko Widodo, Friday (28/8/2020), in Yogyakarta. Earlier, Tuesday (25/8), the President also inaugurated section IV of the Sigli-Banda Aceh toll road in Aceh.

"Alhamdulillah, the airport is 100 percent complete. This airport was constructed very quickly. Only 20 months,” said the President when inaugurating Yogyakarta International Airport.

The construction of the airport cost up to Rp 11.3 trillion. Located in an earthquake prone area, the construction of the airport is designed to be able to withstand earthquake shocks with a magnitude of 8.8, and to anticipate the possibility of a tsunami with a height of 12 meters.

With a runway of 3,250 meters long, Yogyakarta International Airport accommodates wide-body aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777. The airport replaces Adisutjipto International Airport with a capacity of 1.6 million passengers per year. "Here [Yogyakarta International Airport] can accommodate 20 million passengers per year. It is our common duty to bring in 20 million passengers,” said the President.

Yogyakarta Governor Hamengku Buwono hopes that the existence of Yogyakarta International Airport can increase tourist visits and encourage investment in Yogyakarta.

Various people\'s businesses have also grown around the airport.

So far, the existence of Yogyakarta International Airport has spurred the construction of six star hotels with an investment of Rp 2.5 trillion. Various people\'s businesses have also grown around the airport.

Economic recovery

Boosting the development of national strategic projects (PSN) is a strategy for the recovery of the national economy that has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In a Cabinet meeting, Friday (29/5), it was decided that 89 national strategic projects for 2020-2024 worth Rp 1.42 quadrillion would still be worked out.

BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT/MUCHLIS JR

President Joko Widodo inaugurates Yogyakarta International Airport, which is located in Kulon Progo regency, Friday (28/8/2020). For the terminal, this new airport has an area of 219,000 square meters with a capacity of 20 million passengers per year. Yogyakarta International Airport is also designed to be resistant to earthquakes of up to 8.8 magnitude and to be able to withstand tsunami waves up to a height of 12 meters. The airport construction is also accompanied by the operation of AirNav and a tsunami early warning system. Accompanying the President at the inauguration ceremony were State Secretary Pratikno, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo.

Most of the national strategic projects are related to transportation and connectivity, including 15 road and bridge projects, 5 airports, 5 ports, and 6 rail projects. Besides the construction of 5 industrial estates worth Rp 327.2 trillion, as well as the construction of two smelters, there are also 13 dam and irrigation projects, 1 sea wall project, and 6 clean water supply projects.

"Even though we are facing a pandemic, the strategic agenda must not stop and we must continue," said the President while chairing the meeting.

Also read: Toll Road and the Capital for the Resurrection of Aceh

At the inauguration of toll roads in Aceh, the President emphasized that infrastructure development during the pandemic was believed to be able to provide leverage for national economic recovery. This is because the construction of infrastructure projects can create new jobs. The construction of 18 trans-Sumatra toll road sections from Lampung to Aceh, for example, absorbs 24,700 workers.

Separately, Indef\'s senior economist, Dradjad H. Wibowo, assessed that the government needed to prioritize labor-intensive infrastructure projects over capital-intensive projects."In the pandemic, state funds should be used to trigger spending. Capital-intensive projects cannot trigger spending, while labor-intensive projects can," said Dradjad.

Project acceleration

According to data from the Finance Ministry, the realization of state spending as of 31 July 2020 was Rp 1.25 quadrillion or 45.7 percent of the ceiling of Rp 2.73 quadrillion. The realization consisted of Rp 793.6 trillion in central government spending, as well as transfers to the regions and village funds of Rp 458.8 trillion. For central government spending, realized capital expenditure was Rp 46.8 trillion or 34.1 percent of the ceiling.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

A Lion Air plane passes in front of the AirNav air traffic control tower at Yogyakarta International Airport, Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta, Monday (30/3/2020). The airport was fully operational the previous day, serving 115 flight routes. The airport has a runway of 3,250 meters long that can accommodate large aircraft.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said there had been a contraction in capital spending due to project restructuring by the Public Works and Housing Ministry. The restructuring was carried out due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The Public Works and Housing Ministry is accelerating its projects again. To support national economic recovery, capital spending is directed toward labor-intensive programs that absorb a lot of labor," Sri Mulyani said.

Apart from infrastructure development, economic recovery is also pursued through the provision of capital injection assistance for micro-entrepreneurs.(HRS/NCA/EGI/NTA/KRN)