Jakarta –
The government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was famous for its jumbo infrastructure and transportation projects, from toll roads to high-speed trains. In the midst of the huge budgets spent on this, quite a few people are skeptical that these projects will not be able to return on investment.
This condition was explained by Business Expert Prof. Rhenald Kasali. Not a few similar words reached his ears. However, according to him, people’s views on this matter will vary depending on their respective scientific disciplines.
“There are those who say that even until the end of the world, fast trains will not return their capital. A little story, I have been to Europe, and almost everything there has no return on investment,” he said, at the Hub Space X KAI Expo 2023 event presented by the Ministry of Transportation, KAI And detikcomand supported by Meratus at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Friday (29/9/2023).
One of them is the train in Switzerland. He said, every 3 minutes a train comes to the station. Even when residents there are on holiday on Saturdays and Sundays and spend a lot of time at home, the trains still operate even though there are minimal passengers.
“There are no passengers but it keeps running, it keeps getting better, it keeps getting better. When I read and read, it’s all subsidized. So if the end of the world doesn’t return the capital, we definitely won’t build it. Because public transportation has to be subsidized,” he explained.
Apart from that, another story he heard was criticism about the construction of the Trans Sumatra Toll Road (JTTS). Some people are of the view that it is not the time to build it because it is not really needed. However, according to him, this is not just about time but also justice.
“It’s not just the timing, but there is an aspect of equality of justice. If you are a Sumatran person, don’t you feel ‘why is everything being built in Java?’. In my opinion, if it is built only in Java or Jakarta there is a problem of justice, so connectedness is important ,” he said.
According to him, in the economic concept, profit is not only seen from the return on investment before deciding whether to build it or not. It’s not just a matter of when it’s needed, but it’s also related to branding.
“There are also those who say why build the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, now that there is a flyover, the road will be fast. Still, in my opinion, we need a reputation. See if you are not proud, there was a picture earlier, right? Our transportation has improved,” said Rhenald.
“How then the port was built, the railway was built. I think this is something to be proud of and I am very happy to see my achievements and that my country is more appreciated than in the past,” he concluded.
(shc/that)
2023-09-29 10:55:11
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