A Decade of President Jokowi as the Father of Infrastructure to Build Indonesia’s Connectivity
Jakarta – President Joko Widodo’s government has entered a decade with a big focus on equitable infrastructure development. This effort is considered successful in bringing about significant changes, not only in physical aspects, but also in advancing the digital economy, connectivity and mobility. Massive infrastructure development has brought Indonesia to a better position in the global economy and provided direct benefits to society, especially in the outermost regions and 3T (underdeveloped, frontier and outermost) areas.
Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia (FEB UI), Telisa Aulia Falianty, emphasized the importance of infrastructure as an economic driver. According to him, “Infrastructure has quite a large multiplier effect. The characteristic of infrastructure in Indonesia is that it is labor intensive, because many National Strategic Projects (PSN) absorb employment opportunities.” He also added that this development has optimized the use of domestic products, “The government continues to encourage infrastructure development with local products, such as the cement industry and transportation, which come from the domestic economy.”
Apart from the economic impact, infrastructure development also brings changes to people’s daily lives. “Usually people think that infrastructure is physical, even though there is also something related to technology. In this era of Mr. Jokowi, our internet speed is accelerating, such as from 4G to 5G, making it easier for us to communicate and be productive,” said Telisa.
From the government side, Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Susiwijono Moegiarso, highlighted the significant impact of infrastructure projects on economic growth over the past decade. “This massive infrastructure development has had a huge impact on our economic growth over the past decade,” he said. He explained that national strategic projects (PSN) continue to be evaluated and most have been completed, including 53 dams that have been built for food security.
Susiwijono also emphasized that the sustainability of this development will remain a priority for the next government. “For future sustainability, we want to push back some of the infrastructure that we have built in the past 10 years,” he added. Infrastructure in the era of President Jokowi, such as toll roads and Special Economic Zones (KEK), has succeeded in creating new centers of economic growth, especially outside Java.
President Jokowi’s administration has left a legacy of extraordinary infrastructure, which has not only had an impact on economic equality, but also advanced the welfare of Indonesian society as a whole.
