Gatot told President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a video conference on Thursday groundbreaking had taken place for 65 projects worth Rp134 trillion over the past three years or since the MP3EI was launched.
MP3EI projects are largely infrastructure to facilitate economic development.
Gatot said one of the MP3EI projects is the railway double track linking North Sumatra capital of Medan and the new international airport of Kualanamu built with an investment of Rp878 billion.
"The railway transport is already partly operational. Currently construction is already 32 percent completed and it is expected to be fully in operation in 2016," he said.
He said Kualanamu is the first airport in Indonesia having railway transport facility .
Another major project under the MP3EI scheme is a toll road linking Medan-Kualanamu and Tebing Tinggi with an investment of RP5.2 trillion now in the process of construction, he said.
Land clearing has been 80 percent completed and it is expected to be operational in 2016, he said.
Meanwhile, the plan to build the steam powered electric plant of PLTU Sarulla with a capacity of 3x110 MW in North Tapanuli is in the final phase of preparation with an investment of Rp17.5 trillion .
The process of land clearing has been wrapped up and ground breaking is to take place in September 2014.
Construction of an oleo-chemical factory of PT. Unilever Oleochemical Indonesia in the Special Economic Zone (KEK) of Sei Mangkei, Simalungun worth around Rp2 trillion is 90 percent completed.
The factory is expected to be operational by the end of 2014 with a production capacity of 220,000 tons per year.
Other projects include container port at Batu Ampat, Batam to cost Rp4.5 trillion including Rp363 billion for extension of a quay.
The project is already 86 percent completed and it is to be fully operational in early 2015.
Revitalization of Pusri fertilizer factory in Palembang with an investment of Rp6.2 trillion is now 60 percent completed and it is to be operational in mid 2015.
Ground breaking will take place by the end of 2014 to mark the start of development of HVDC Java-Sumatra transmission network to cost around Rp23.56 trillion .
The plan to build a coal-fired power plant in South Sumatra, PLTU Sumsel , with a capacity of 2x620 MW and to cost Rp14 trillion is still in the process of financial closing, Gatot said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in the beginning many observers were pessimistic about the MP3EI scheme but finally hard work has produced concrete result.
The president said the ultimate goal of the MP3EI projects is eradicate poverty.
"Building infrastructure would drive economic development, provide jobs and reduce poverty . All that is included in the big concept of Mp3EI," he said.
(T.SYS/A/H-ASG/A014)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
