Infrastucture Development

Sei Gohong 

Do you know the objective of infrastructure development?. Does it aim to make the villages with local taste change into the big cities with international quality?.

When everyone talked about local infrastucture in their area, most of them concluded “infrastructure development changes level of their area, becoming more urban”. Some people even dont know or maybe dont care with it.

Now, let’s see it from the village level. What does actually happen?.

We take example from a small village, in Palangka Raya, Kalimatan Tengah, Indonesia. Sei Gohong, this village is located in periphery of Palangka Raya. The community mention them as the tourism village with their river site, but the infrastructure is still bad. The road is still broken. They have security posts, but they only use it after a robbery happened.

Some volunteers in partnership with the city government, tried to help their local infrastucture development, in Sei Gohong. They were painting some infrastructures, such as security posts and welcoming gate. They also builded playground for kindergarten and provided garbage bin for some places.

It was done and couple days after that, the community dont know how to maintain it. What’s wrong with the community ?, or is it government’s mistake?.

We will try to figure it out, knowing about infrastucture development surrounding the community. In Palangka Raya, the government has urban development planning. They plan to divide their city into three areas ; urban, rural, and forest. The percentage is around 20 % (urban), 30 % (rural), and 50% (forest) (Dinas Tata Kota Palangka Raya, 2013).

Government has some programs to develope the rural areas. They said they used the development with community based, they just provide the consultant and budget, then they involve the community in development process, included in taking decisions. That is the theory, but in fact from Sei Gohong, it’s not really happened. Even when the volunteers were doing the infrastructure development, the community was not really involved.

Government program is still theory. They need to make it happened into reality. Yet, is the infrastructure development problem only about it?, is there another case?.

Ya, there are. Indonesia is biggest archipelago countries which needs a lot of improving in transportation infrastructure ; plane, ship, train, bus, airport, harbour, etc. Some plan is actually already made. Those planning is disturbed by corruptions though. Financial times said, Indonesia has many chances for investors to invest in infrastucture sector, but the investors worry with corruption threat.

Indonesian economy is boom as the third highest in Asia, but indonesian infrastructure is buckled or decreasing. Terrible lack of infrastucture is still going on this young country. Chinese is the biggest investors in Indonesia over recent four years (Bloomberg, 2013). It helps Indonesia.

While europe and US is still recovering, Asia has chance to be the engine of global economy. Indonesia should be able to take that role. Infrastructure is one of critical discussion in this term. Big issue in Indonesia is the readiness of infrastructure. Government must have good regulation, because the infrastructure investment is really high cost and the investors need safe condition during their investment.

If Indonesia can develope efficient infrastructure, it will help growth of economy more. That is what Wishnu Wardhana (President of Indika Energy) said in APEC CEO Summit 2013.

That is Indonesia which is fighting to develope their developing country through infrastructure. For the good comparation, let’s see what’s happened in developed country which is keep developing.

A lecture from Laura D’Andrea Tyson, Professor University of California Berkeley about US growth oppurtunity in infrastructure, research by Mc Kinsey Company ; US needs to make faster recovery for their eceonomy. The strategy is ‘game changers’,it includes infrastructure sector. New technology will make them move forward.

Private and government should work together to achieve it. Infrastructure is great way to handle the slow recovery, because it creates the demand. Infrastructure also is great way to boost the competitiveness because it creates capability of productivity later.

Million jobs come from infrastructure development, it helps the GDP. It has multiplier effects on economy as well, such as employing people, helping commodities export and many things. Invesment spending is needed. Infrastructure investment is so powerful and develope it means develope the civilization prosperity.

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