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Ministry pushes forward 982 infrastructure deals as govt ramps up spending
The Public Works and Housing Ministry signed on Friday 982 infrastructure procurement packages worth Rp 12.5 trillion (US$889.2 million).
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Infrastructure push: Workers make upgrades to railway infrastructure at Jatinegara Station in East Jakarta on April 4, 2018. (JP/P.J. Leo)
T
he Public Works and Housing Ministry signed hundreds of infrastructure deals after inviting tenders earlier than usual to speed up economic recovery through government expenditure.
The ministry signed on Friday 982 infrastructure procurement packages worth Rp 12.5 trillion (US$889.2 million), bringing the total number of packages it has signed to 1,191, said Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono.
“Following the President’s order to speed up the spending of the 2021 budget in order to strengthen and speed up national economic recovery, we announce that since October 2020 the [ministry] has invited early tenders for 3,175 packages worth Rp 38.6 trillion,” Basuki said in a virtual presser.
The signing took place amid the government’s effort to kick-start business activity to speed up recovery from the pandemic, which led to a contraction of 3.49 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the July–September period. Government expenditure soared 9.6 percent yoy in the period, contributing 0.72 percentage points to offset the contraction as consumption, investment, export and import shrank.
Read also: Ministry conducts early bidding for 1,900 of next year's construction projects
In line with the pandemic-induced recession, the construction sector shrank 4.52 percent yoy in the same period, slightly less severe than the contraction seen in the second quarter. As a result, the share of the workforce in the sector fell by 0.46 percentage points to 6.28 percent in August.
The minister outlined in November last year a target of signing 30 percent of the planned 4,900 infrastructure procurement packages until January. But the ministry appears to have fallen short of the target.
