Construction Industry Must Improve Competitiveness: Kadin

Jakarta, Nov 27 (Antara) - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has opined that the national construction industry should improve its competitiveness in the face of the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 (AEC-2015). "The national construction industry needs to improve its competitiveness because it has a major role in absorbing a lot of manpower," Kadin Chairman Suryo Bambang Sulisto stated while opening a national working meeting on construction and land here on Thursday. He pointed out that despite having a large labor force, the country still faces a shortage of experts. Therefore, the construction industry`s competitiveness should be improved to better face the AEC-2015. Sulisto pointed out that the experts in the construction industry amounted to only 10 percent, skilled labor 30 percent, and labor group 60 percent. He noted that in accordance with the vision and mission of President Joko Widodo, it was estimated that starting next year, the market for construction services will thrive. "As the flagship service industry, the Indonesian construction industry, in the next one to two years, will be able to stand at par with competitors in the region," he affirmed. The Kadin chairman said that many had complained about the preparations made by the construction industry in the run up to the AEC-2015, and several others had sought protection and were keen to delay the implementation of the AEC. "But, we have to stay prepared because the protection and delay will not improve the competitiveness if we fail to work even harder," he added.