P

eople living in regions with a poverty ratio of more than 50 percent may receive Rp 6.1 trillion (US$622.2 million) worth of basic infrastructure and irrigation projects the government is working on this year.

The projects are aimed to compensate for the impact of the planned hike of subsidized fuel prices scheduled for later this month ' when the government will launch the projects ' although it may take around six months for them to be completed.

Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said regions with a high poverty rate would be prioritized for the projects, which include housing infrastructure, clean drinking water and raw water development.

'These projects will help ease the burden of the people, particularly those in the most-affected
areas, and help the regions continue develop their economies. We aim to ensure that the funds are absorbed back into these communities because the fuel price increase should not make them suffer,' Djoko said on Wednesday, adding that the ministry and other stakeholders were preparing human resources for the projects.

He said the ministry would work with local people and academics, with a call going out to all elements in society to help monitor the projects 'and inform us if there is a community that is eligible to receive this assistance but is left out'.

In a bid to save the state coffers from burgeoning fuel subsidies, the government is set later this month to raise the price of subsidized Premium gasoline by Rp 2,000 per liter and subsidized diesel fuel by Rp 1,000 per liter from their current prices of Rp 4,500 each, which is almost half its overseas market price. The measure will push up inflation significantly and the poverty rate in this nation of 240 million people.

In a proposal of the revised 2013 state budget, the government will channel Rp 12.5 trillion to social security aid, which will include a rice for the poor (Raskin) program and assistance for impoverished school children; Rp 11.6 trillion for direct cash aid and around Rp 6 trillion to accelerate the development of infrastructure, such as irrigation channels and water sanitation.

Djoko said the ministry would allocate Rp 2 trillion to build and renovate houses in 5,500 villages and 1,800 subdistricts in slum areas for the basic housing infrastructure project, which should be finished within six months. Thirty percent of the projects will be conducted in Java and the remainder on other
islands across the archipelago.

Another Rp 2 trillion will be spent to develop drinking water systems in 318 fishing villages, 260 non-fishing villages and 35 subdistricts that are categorized as arid zones, and 341 different locations in major cities nationwide containing large numbers of urban poor.

Low-income people living in cities will receive as much as Rp 940 billion for drinking water projects as the impact is expected to be greater in urban rather than rural areas.

The remaining budget will be used to develop raw water systems and small farm reservoirs in 93 regencies and cities, as well as irrigation systems in 4,000 villages. Theses systems and reservoirs are expected to help improve food production in underdeveloped areas.