The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry will focus on building infrastructure in four sectors next year, namely transportation, food supply, waste management and housing.

The ministry is set to obtain Rp 106.9 trillion from the proposed 2018 budget once it is approved, the highest amount of all ministries and government institutions, an official has said.

Of that figure, Rp 41.3 trillion would be allocated to building new roads and bridges as well as maintaining existing ones, while another Rp 37.3 trillion was earmarked for the construction of dams and irrigation networks, said Adang Saf Ahmad, a special staff to Public Works and Public Housing Minister, on Saturday.

A further Rp 15.9 trillion would be spent on facilities pertaining to wastewater treatment and clean water management, while the rest would be funneled to develop affordable housing, he added.

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The planned infrastructure projects will be located across the archipelago.

At present, the ministry handles some key projects in Aceh, West Kalimantan and Papua, among provinces.

Adang further said that improving infrastructure was vital for Indonesia to enhance its competitiveness on the global stage.

“Infrastructure is one of the pillars that determine [a country's position on] the competitiveness index. When the competitiveness index score is high, that will contribute to boosting people’s welfare by way of increased productivity and connectivity,” he said in a discussion.

Rising government spending on infrastructure had helped Indonesia ascend in the World Economic Forum’s infrastructure competitiveness index.

Indonesia climbed two places to 60th position in the index in 2016-2017 from the previous assessment. (mrc/lnd)