Looking for Best Way To Welfare? Build the Road First, Sir

The world is flat, according to Thomas Friedman (The World is Flat, 2005). China and India was able to use this flatness to boost their economic growth. What makes them different? It is more than such a "miracle". Friedman point out both countries commitment on technology and importance of infrastructure. They provide better access by build electric installation and better road. Park Chung-Hee when he lead South Korea to industrialized countries was do the same thing. On his famous program "Saemuel Undong" (a New Village Movement), he began it with infrastructure. Including build road, which is interconnecting villages.

How about Indonesia? Today's Kompas headline (3 August 2009) figure out how poor our infrastructure. We have 36,000 km national road. (Most of them lay on Sumatera an Java), but it also easy to hear many complaint about the road condition. The same old stories. Bad drainase, overloading truck can pass the officer, and some indication of questionable material. Now 3000 km road was expired (average age of Indonesian road is 10 years). Estimation told us that we need Rp 36 trillion (doubles Ditjen Bina Marga budget). A challenge for SBY to find long term solution for this classic problem. This is important to reduce transportation cost for many economic sector. Easy access would make economics actor allocate their resources more efficient.

But, even Sumatra and Java must count their self lucky. Papua has worse condition. How we can promise, welfare is on the way to Papua, even they didn't have enough road? May be SBY shoukd consider to double allocation of government expenditure budget to Departemen Pekerjaan Umum.

Infrastructure really need stimulus. On my opinion, infrastructure need bigger stimulus than fuel (BBM).