by Mathias Hariyadi


In the past three years, the number of passengers passing through Indonesian airports has increased from 63.3 million in 2011 to 93 million in 2013. Plans are underway to expand existing airports and build new ones. However, funding remains a major obstacle. This is also true for Jakarta's monorail. Such problems will fill the plate of Indonesia's next president.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Land disputes and funding problems are serious obstacles to infrastructural development in Indonesia, a nation with a booming economy and a growing flow of local and international passengers.

In the capital Jakarta, plans to expand the road system, airports and railways have been caught up with the ongoing presidential race, with the local governor, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as the leading candidate for the country's top position.

In 2011, some 63.3 million passengers went through Indonesian airports. The following year, the number rose by 19.04 per cent, to 81.3 million. Last year, the upward trend continued with a total of 93 million passengers, this according to data provided by the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation.

Boosting national and international airports (pictured) has thus become one of the priorities set by the government in recent years. Io this effect, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on 27 March inaugurated the new international airport of Kuala Namu in Deli Serdang, a suburb of Medan, in North Sumatra province.

At least six other major projects involve air transport. Some existing airports will be upgraded, in Jakarta for example, whilst construction of new ones should start in 2020, including one in Bali, one of Indonesia's foremost tourist resorts. 

However, as land disputes and underfunding fester, many infrastructure projects are hampered, with construction halted.

In the Jakarta region, plans to build a rail system to ease road congestion and encourage public transit for millions of commuters have been discussed for decades. 

Last October, Governor Jokowi led a ceremony to start construction on a monorail system set to be ready by 2015, but after only three months, his administration had to suspend the plan due to financial problems encountered by the consortium that was supposed to fund the project.

Construction stoppage will penalise all those, residents or not, who rely on such an essential project to improve car traffic in the capital and surrounding areas.

In the meantime, the race for the presidency is getting tighter as the July vote gets nearer.

Jakarta's current governor is the most popular candidate. Even the suspension of infrastructural development and planned projects to improve the capital do not seem to have affected his image.

With nothing to lose, he can attract voters thanks to his down-to-earth style of government, free from the palace intrigue that Indonesians have come to expect from their political leaders.

When it comes down to the wire, the race, according to experts, should pit Jokowi against former General Prabowo Subianto, son-in-law of former President Suharto and son of a famous economist.

Still, nothing has been decided yet. One important factor in the election will be the choice of running mate, a step that might prove decisive for voters.

• indonesia
• presidential
• parliamentary
• election
• infrastructural
• development
• airports
• railways