Jakarta Declaration proposes regional funds

Monday, 19 April 2010

The Jakarta Post

Seventeen countries including Indonesia have signed the Jakarta Declaration to boost infrastructure development in the Asia-Pacific region through public-private partnership (PPP) schemes.

The declaration to replace the Seoul Declaration was signed on Saturday at the end of the four-day Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on PPP for Infrastructure Development 2010.

There is a proposal to establish a Regional Infrastructure Fund, which will comprise a pool of funds for Asia-Pacific countries for financing the infrastructure development needed to boost economic growth.

The declaration, with three key points, will be submitted to the UN as a resolution to support infrastructure financing and implementation.

The three points include helping members to design policies and regulations to implement PPP schemes; providing technical support to prepare countries to establish PPP schemes; and creating a PPP secretariat under UNESCAP to promote PPP projects.

UNESCAP executive secretary Nooleen Heyzer said infrastructure should be boosted to support economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.