T

he government is now preparing for the tendering process for the country'€™s major infrastructure projects that are to be developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme, which is part of the government'€™s program to support an annual economic growth rate of at least 7 percent.

Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said in Jakarta on Thursday that the first priorities would be on the Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road, the Manado-Bitung toll road and a drinking water treatment system (SPAM) project in western Semarang, Central Java.

'€œWe decided to prioritize these projects based on their readiness and also to prove that the PPP scheme can be realized in Indonesia,'€ the minister told reporters at the coordinating economic minister'€™s office after a meeting on Wednesday evening.

Basuki said that the tender call for the 94-kilometer Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road project was expected to start in May this year, involving a total investment of Rp 11.4 trillion (US$878.7 million).

'€œThe toll road will be divided into several sections. The first section will be funded by the state budget; the fifth section will be funded by provincial budget. Meanwhile, the second, third and fourth sections will be open for tenders since the land acquisition process for those sections are almost finished,'€ he said.

Another project that will be offered to the private sector through the PPP scheme is the 7-kilometer Manado-Bitung toll road in North Sulawesi.

Basuki said that the Rp 4 trillion toll road would be open for tenders by the fourth quarter of this year, as the government was still acquiring some land needed for the project.

Meanwhile, for the SPAM project in western Semarang, Basuki said that the tendering process would have to wait for a governmental regulation because of the involvement of the private sector.

Last month, the Constitutional Court revoked the 2004 Water Resources Law, effectively paving the way for the state to take full control of water resources from the private sector and of concessions of water resources by companies that sell water-related products. The verdict also reinstated the previous 1974 Water Law until a new one is deliberated.

'€œSince we have to wait for the regulation, the tendering process will most likely be open in September this year,'€ Basuki said.

The meeting, which was also attended by National Development Planning Minister Andrinof Chaniago, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Indroyono Soesilo and Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, also discussed the acceleration of the Jakarta airport express train project connecting Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, and Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta.

The Rp 24 trillion project that was expected to begin operation in 2019 would also be developed through the PPP scheme.

'€œSome investors have already expressed their interest in participating in the project. We hope that the project can begin this year,'€ Indroyono said.

He said that other projects that were discussed during the meeting were the Bontang Refinery project in East Kalimantan and the completion of the Jakarta MRT project.