TheJakartaPost
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Breakthrough, new development mantra
Developing infrastructure in outlying and frontier regions is extremely challenging for an archipelagic state like Indonesia. Breakthrough is key to enabling the people in those regions to enjoy a slice of the “development pie” that they have been missing out on for so long. #opinion
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A ship discharges cargo at Bitung Cargo Port in North Sulawesi in October 2016. The government wants to turn the port into an international hub seaport, part of its infrastructure development efforts, which rating agency Moody's Investors Service lauds in its latest Indonesia's rating outlook revision. (Antara/Adwit B. Pramono)
O
n unveiling his vision for Indonesia recently, reelected President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo expressed his commitment to accelerating infrastructure development to connect, among others, community production centers with the national supply chain.
Connectivity is all that remote and outermost areas of the country lack and what prevents them from growing. But developing infrastructure in outlying and frontier regions is extremely challenging for an archipelagic state like Indonesia. Breakthrough is key to enabling the people in those regions to enjoy a slice of the “development pie” that they have been missing out on for so long.
A breakthrough will require integrating a variety of elements from the upstream to the downstream. Integration requires the participation of state-owned enterprises, region-owned enterprises (ROEs) and cooperatives, as well as private companies.
The government can initiate a breakthrough by implementing a pilot project in areas known for their high economic potential. If it succeeds, the model can be replicated in other far-flung regions.
One area that meets the requirements for a pilot project is the coastal village of Sadeng in the Gunung Kidul regency of Yogyakarta. The village, which faces the Indian Ocean, is on the easternmost coast of Yogyakarta and borders Pacitan regency in East Java. Sadeng is located in a bay that has huge fishery potential. Among the local catch is tuna, the fish species that has the highest economic value in the world.
In fact, the Indian Ocean is a migration area for tuna, including the precious southern bluefin tuna. The world record price is US$3.1 million for a southern bluefin tuna that was auctioned Jan. 5 at Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo (World Record Academy: 2019).
To help local fishermen connect with buyers, the local government has built a fishery port on 50,000 square meters of land that belongs to the Yogyakarta sultanate.
