President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has defended his 35,000 megawatt power plant program, denying it is too ambitious

“The program is not ambitious and its target is not too high. It’s what we owe to the people,” Jokowi said at the launch of the program in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, on Monday.

The President claimed that he received numerous complaints during his visits to various areas about electricity shortages as only 16 percent of the Indonesian population had thus far been able to get secure access to electricity.

“There’s a kind of electricity crisis. Investors have been forced to wait for a long time to get access to electricity before building hotels or industrial estates. When can we develop industry if we lack of electricity?” he asked.

The power generation plan, designed to provide an additional 35,000 MW by 2019, constitutes one of the major programs prepared by the Jokowi administration to help boost economic growth.

Disclosing that the program is supported by adequate and well-prepared regulations, Jokowi promised to supervise progress in the development of the power plant projects in 210 locations across the country.

“The projects are estimated to cost about Rp 1.12 trillion (US$88 billion). If the utilization of local components can reach 60 percent, it would be great,” said Jokowi, adding that he would give the private sector a chance to participate.