(1) Construction of Bridges in the Province of Nusa Tenggara Barat

The province of Nusa Tenggara Barat, which is located in the eastern part of Indonesia, is estimated as one of the poverty provinces in Indonesia. The province’s gross regional product per capita is less than one third of the Indonesia’s GNP (gross national product) per capita. It has been noted that in order to enhance economic activities and reduce poverty in the province, it is essential to improve its transportation infrastructure that could ensure frequent movement of people and goods.

Especially, the southern ring road of Sumbawa Island in that province, which was opened as the main communication line in 2002, has been frequently closed or interrupted due to insufficient capacity of infrastructure, especially bridges, against heavy rain falls. Against such background, the Government of Indonesia requested the Government of Japan to provide grant aid of constructing 8 new bridges and upgrading one bridge in the main route. With the implementation of this project by the Government of Japan, it is expected that the local people would enjoy the benefit of reliable means of transportation throughout the year, and thus the people’s daily life in the province would improve significantly.

The Government of Japan has already decided to provide grant aid up to \938 million, approximately USD 8.52 million or Rp 87.8 billion for the project entitled “Bridge Construction in the Province of Nusa Tenggara Timur” in August 2005. It is hoped that the new grant aid project for the province of Nusa Tenggara Barat, coupled with the ongoing grant aid project of 2005 for the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, would help the Government of Indonesia in its endeavor for enhancing people’s welfare and fighting against poverty in both provinces.

(2) Human Resource Development Scholarship

This program was designed to strengthen the capacity of Indonesian officials who formulate and implement policies in various areas for economic and social development in Indonesia and to accept 30 officials and university lecturers each year for the Master’s degree courses in 6 fields, namely, Public Administration, Law, Economics, Business Administration, International Relations and Information Technology (Public Policy was added for the year 2006).

So far, all of the first group dispatched in 2003 and some of the second group dispatched in 2004 have already obtained Master’s degrees and come back to Indonesia, while remaining fellows of the second group to the fourth group dispached in 2006 are currently staying in Japan and studying. This grant assistance is to disburse funds for studying in Japan, including tuition fees, scholarships etc. for 22 students of the second group dispatched in 2004 who are currently studying in Japan.

After completion of their studies in Japan, they are expected to make use of the expertise and knowledge gained in Japan and their human network and to play an important role in economic and social development in Indonesia and for the development of the relationship between Indonesia and Japan.