Jakarta, 7 February 2017, The IsDB Board of Executive Directors approved last Sunday in Jeddah a new USD 488 million financing support for two projects in Indonesia. The support includes USD 250 million for the development of Trans South-South Java Road Project and USD 238 million for the development of Six Islamic Higher Education Institutions.

The Development of the Trans South-South Java Road Project supports the Government of Indonesia’s plan to increase the road network capacity in Java Island to balance the already congested Northern Java corridor and Central corridor and South corridor. The support will include construction of a 158 km new road as well as bridges to complete the Trans South-South corridor. The focus location will be in DI Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java provinces.

“The Development of the Trans South-South Java Road Project will reduce the travel time from Sendangbiru (Malang) to Puger by two hours, while the one from Puger to Jarit by one and a half hours. The traffic is also expected to grow from 50 vehicle per day (vpd) to 1,000 vpd within five years of project completion. This project will promote the progress of Southern Java region and increase the prosperity of the region through improvement of market access and investment competitiveness,” Ibrahim Shoukry, the IsDB Resident Representative in Indonesia explained.

The second project comprises the Development and Improvement of Six Islamic Higher Education Institutions to support the Government of Indonesia’s strategy in higher education for 2015-2019, aiming to produce qualified workforce and improve national competitiveness through innovation in higher education. The beneficiaries of the project are State Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Ampel Surabaya, State Islamic Institute (IAIN) Raden Intan Lampung, IAIN Sultan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi, IAIN Antasari Banjarmasin, IAIN Imam Bonjol Padang and IAIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten. The support will include; first, improvement of Islamic higher education institutions’ learning environment such as construction of new facilities, renovation and procurement of new equipment; second, improvement of their quality, innovation and competitiveness through trainings, curricula development and accreditation, development of a research consortia, research and teaching grants, partnership and research collaboration, and innovation.

The project is expected to improve the relevance, quantity and quality of human resources in Indonesia through contribution in improving Indonesia’s Human Development Index Ranking from 110 in 2016 to 90 in 2021, increasing Indonesia’s position in the Innovation Index from 30 out of 140 in 2016 to 26 by 2021, and improving its Global Competitive Index. The project will also emphasize on providing capacity development through scholarships and trainings for over 1,400 staff of the beneficiary institutions.

The Islamic Development Bank Group (www.isdb.org) is an international financial institution with 57 member countries. It was founded in 1975 with the purpose of fostering the economic development and social progress of member countries and Muslim communities individually as well as jointly, in accordance with the principles of Shari'ah, i.e., Islamic Law. The IsDB Group comprise independent entities such as Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector (ICD), International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment of Export Credit (ICIEC), and Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), and Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) for poverty reduction.

The IsDB Group activities in Indonesia are aligned under the Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) 2016-2020. The MCPS is a strategy document that guides the operation of the IsDB Group in its member countries over the medium term (3-5 years).

In December 2014, IsDB Group established its Country Gateway Office (CGO) in Indonesia (www.isdb-indonesia.org). The CGO facilitates and galvanizes the cooperation of IsDB Group with all the stakeholders in Indonesia including the Government, private sector, academia, civil society, and development partners.

End