55 Thousand Piped Sewage Connections To Be Built Under Australia-Indonesia Partnership

JAKARTA, April 28 (Antara) - A partnership between the Australian and Indonesian governments has led to the development of more than 400 thousand piped water connections, generating A$23 million in new infrastructure development, and is expected to create another 55 thousand piped sewage connections by 2019. The Indonesia Infrastructure Initiative (IndII), which ran for eight years, has now concluded, leaving a significant legacy for regional governments, road users, and households across Indonesia, according to the Australian Embassy website here on Thursday. Deputy of Infrastructure of Bappenas, Wismana Adi Suryabrata, said that the partnership had been productive and dynamic. "This contribution has proven to be a catalyst for infrastructure development in a range of sectors, especially transport and water resources," Wismana stated. Through technical assistance and grants, as well as the sharing of knowledge, IndII has sought to meet the challenges confronting the infrastructure sector in Indonesia. One of the important breakthroughs of this infrastructure partnership is the Water Hibah program with its provision of financial grants. This use of conditional grants has also been applied in the road maintenance sector through the Provincial Roads Improvement and Maintenance (PRIM) program in West Nusa Tenggara. This model is expected to be adopted nationally in the future. "The great achievements and lessons learned have been made possible by the commitment of the government of Indonesia, as well as the leadership demonstrated at provincial and district levels," said Minister Counselor for Economic, Investment and Infrastructure of Australian Embassy, Steven Barraclough. "Although the IndII program is coming to an end, the partnership between Indonesia and Australia will continue so that infrastructure development in Indonesia can foster long-term and sustainable economic growth," Barraclough remarked. Australia announced a 10-year infrastructure program worth A$300m at the same time while deciding to resume IACEPA (Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) negotiations. The program represents an investment for our economic partnership.