The multi-trillion-rupiah telephony project is on course for its completion by the end of the year, the Communications and Information Ministry has pledged, with authorities speeding up the construction of the remaining base transceiver stations (BTS) in the coming months.

The government has targeted to build 5,200 BTS across the country. Of the total figure, around 4,000 stations are already online. The remaining 1,200 towers are currently still under construction, said newly appointed Deputy Communications and Information Minister Nezar Patria.

“We will speed up the construction so we can hopefully complete it by the end of the year,” Nezar said on Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Of all the towers still under construction, Nezar added that the ministry expected some challenges upon building 500 telecommunications towers in Papua “due to the security and geographical situation in the province.”

Resource-rich and restive Papua has seen rising tensions in the past few months. Deadly skirmishes between security forces and armed rebel groups have become common following the capture of Philip Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot working for frontier airline Susi Air, by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in February.

Nezar was inducted to the deputy ministerial position last week, along with the new Communications and Information Minister Budi Arie Setiadi. Budi replaced NasDem Party politician Johnny G. Plate who was removed from the Cabinet in May after being named a suspect in the corruption case surrounding the telephony project.

Johnny is currently standing trial for his alleged involvement in the graft-ridden project, which is predicted to cost Rp 8.1 trillion (US$538 million) in state losses. The NasDem politician is suspected of pocketing Rp 17.8 billion in kickbacks.

Nezar was a journalist, while the minister previously served as the deputy villages, disadvantaged regions and transmigration minister. Budi is also the leader of ProJo, one of Jokowi’s most prominent volunteer groups.

The communication tower project is deemed the backbone of the digital economy. The BTS towers would be used to disburse the 4G networks to remote areas across the country. The ministry’s five-year strategic plan targeted that the 4G networks to be available in more than 9,000 villages by the end of this year.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ordered Budi and Nezar to make the completion of the BTS tower project as a priority in the remaining 15 months of his term. He said after the ministerial inauguration last week that the project would be crucial in ensuring people living in remote areas could access the internet.

“I want the [BTS] project to be done,” the President said. “The judicial process can continue, but the project itself must be concluded, since it impacts the public, especially those living in underdeveloped areas.”

Jokowi promised to form a task force to help the communications ministry complete the project.

The project was spearheaded by the Telecommunication and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) under the Communications and Information Ministry. The procurement phase began in 2020, a year after Johnny was appointed as minister in October 2019. The project was expected to cost Rp 28 trillion.

The communications ministry was supposed to have erected around 8,000 4G BTS towers in frontier, outermost and disadvantaged areas by this year. But as of the third quarter last year, only around 2,400 towers had been erected, according to graft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch. Some of the towers were reportedly not functioning properly.

Popular

On World Environment Day, you can help end plastic pollution

Bali to clamp down on illegal foreign-owned businesses

Pressure mounts on Gibran as impeachment process continues