Records of the ministry’s Directorate General of Financing and Risk Management reveal that Rp 390 trillion will mature in 2018 and Rp 420 trillion in 2019.

“The state budget is expansive in character. So we can develop infrastructure, finance social protection and make transfers to the regions, etc,” said the ministry’s fiscal policy head, Suahasil Nazara, in Jakarta on Monday as reported by kompas.com.

(Read also: Minister: Rp 3.67q government debt no cause for concern)

When President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo took office in 2014, government debt was Rp 2.60 quadrillion, meaning that during the three years he has been in office, government debt has increased by Rp 1.07 quadrillion.

Suahasil, however, argued that total government debt was only 28 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), far less than the 60 percent allowed by law. “The figure is also far less than the debt of neighboring countries,” he added.

The government has been forced to seek loans to cover the state budget deficit as state revenue is always less than state expenditure. This year, the deficit is estimated to reach 2.6 percent of the total state budget of Rp 2 quadrillion.

Suahasil said the government would maintain the state budget deficit at less than 3 percent as required by the State Finance Law. (bbn)

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