“There is not currently a shortage of liquidity at the international level. However, the issue is how to refocus on opportunities and make them attractive to the international private sector so investors come in and contribute to economic growth,” the advisory group's executive director Seth Tan told The Jakarta Post in an exclusive interview on Aug. 14.

He added that a well-established consortium of investors preferred low-risk infrastructure projects over highly profitable ones, and that governments should seek to attract those types of investors rather than those only seeking to gain high profits.

“From my experiences working on projects outside Asia, projects that have an internal rate of return [IRR] slightly below the profitable level of 20 percent can still get a very credible consortium both from the equity and debt side. Furthermore, those types of consortiums will also bring the right support system and the outcome will be great,” he said.

The government has relied on the private sector to take part in developing, financing and managing the country’s ambitious infrastructure projects under the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) amid state budget limitations.

The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) has estimated that the country will need US$429.7 billion in infrastructure investment, equal to 6.1 percent of GDP, between 2020 and 2024.

However, the government might only be able to finance 30 percent of the projects using the state budget, according to Public Works and Housing Ministry financing strategy director Herry Trisaputra Zuna, adding that it expected additional funds to come from the private sector and non-conventional sources of funding.

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