By: Nana Gunawan *)
During his 2 terms leading Indonesia, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has succeeded in advancing Indonesia. Infrastructure development is the main focus of the government for connectivity, basic services, food, energy, and industrial needs. President Jokowi also emphasized the importance of infrastructure development not only to build physically but also to provide long-term benefits for people throughout Indonesia.
Various infrastructure developments have been carried out by President Jokowi, ranging from transportation, dams, to the Nusantara National Capital (IKN) project. The government’s involvement in advancing this sector has become the key to driving sustainable economic growth.
In recent years, a series of infrastructure projects have created positive impacts on various aspects of people’s lives and national economic growth, such as better access in various regions, increasing regional competitiveness, attracting private sector investment, and creating new jobs.
The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) has been developing transportation infrastructure projects for the past 10 years or throughout President Jokowi’s leadership. Minister of Transportation (Menhub), Budi Karya Sumadi said that the past 10 years have been a period of extraordinary transformation for the transportation sector. According to him, during that period massive infrastructure development was carried out and has had a positive impact on society.
Budi Karya Sumadi also said that Indonesia’s transportation sector has experienced rapid and sustainable growth, various modern infrastructures such as the Jakarta-Bandung fast train, to the digitalization of transportation services have succeeded in increasing connectivity, efficiency, and public comfort. In fact, during this decade, various achievements of the Ministry of Transportation in building connectivity with an Indonesia-centric paradigm have been widely completed.
Meanwhile, Budi Karya also said that during the 10 years of President Jokowi’s administration, the most development and revitalization were carried out in seaports and train stations. While the type A terminals were the least. President Jokowi has developed 85 ferry ports. Then the construction of 65 ferry docks, 12 new ferry ports, and the construction of a mass transportation system in urban areas. While in the maritime sector, the government built 39 sea toll routes, and 51 port developments and the construction of pioneer ships.
Furthermore, in railways, the government has built 10,709 km of railway lines, and built modernization of train stations in 58 locations. Then, in the air sector, the government built 41 air bridge routes and 26 new airports. This achievement illustrates that from 2015 to 2024, President Jokowi has done a lot in order to unite Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) highlighted President Jokowi’s policy of executing modern transportation modes such as Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) . The construction of MRT and LRT during President Jokowi’s leadership era was considered very appropriate.
Deputy Chairman of the MTI Regional Strengthening and Development Division, Djoko Setijowarno said that one of the indicators of MRT and LRT development is the population density in the area. Moreover, MRT and LRT are operated for the Jakarta area and its surroundings which have very high population density and mobility.
Djoko added that the existence of MRT and LRT built in the era of President Jokowi has a real impact on the community for mobility in Jakarta and its surroundings. According to him, MRT and LRT offer time efficiency, comfort, and affordable rates that people tend to look for. However, the government, both central and regional, still has homework to improve public transportation from residential areas which is expected to make it easier for people to use public transportation and reduce congestion levels as a result of the use of private vehicles.
In addition to Jakarta and its surroundings (Jabodetabek), Djoko also emphasized to the Government to pay more attention to the distribution of transportation throughout Indonesia, including for the 3T (underdeveloped, outermost, and remote) areas. He said that not all areas are suitable for the construction of MRT or LRT, but other areas can be boosted by public transportation such as buses or other transportation that touches settlements.
Seeing this phenomenon, it is not impossible that Indonesia’s economic growth will continue to be driven in line with efforts to improve people’s welfare. When the level of people’s welfare improves, Indonesian Human Resources (HR) will also be increasingly able to contribute to domestic economic development and growth. Therefore, the Indonesian Government under the leadership of President Jokowi has attempted to grow the national economy and improve people’s welfare through massive infrastructure development including transportation development.
These efforts have an impact on opening up new jobs, facilitating mobilization that leads to increased access to capital for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), improving the quality and excellence of human resources, reducing poverty rates, establishing policies that support downstreaming, and increasing investment attractiveness. With the massive infrastructure development carried out by President Jokowi, the target of Indonesia Emas in 2045 can be achieved so that the country of Indonesia does not experience decline.
)* The author is a Political Observer, Nusa Bangsa Institute.