Indonesia's parliament is likely to pass a long-delayed land bill next week, a move that investors hope will speed up land acquisition to spur infrastructure development in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, Reuters reported. Inadequate infrastructure is seen as both an investment opportunity and an obstacle to growth, and has been cited by Fitch Ratings as a key risk to the chances of Indonesia winning an investment grade rating next year. The government submitted the bill to a slow-moving parliament late last year, and hopes it will help attract $100 billion of private investment for new airports, ports and roads, though the contentious question of compensation for land meant it had been expected to be delayed again into next year. "I'm 99 percent sure that the bill will be passed in the plenary on December 16, we are working on the wording now," Taufiq Hidayat, a lawmaker on a parliamentary committee drafting the bill, told Reuters. The bill will only apply to government projects , but also allows for privately-operated projects on government-bought land. The government is relying on the private sector for two-thirds of the G20 member's infrastructure needs. Japan, China and India have already promised over $70 billion. Indonesia has not built a new railway since gaining independence from the Dutch over 60 years ago, transport disasters are all too common, and its airports, ports and roads are becoming overloaded as strong economic growth boosts trade. This adds to delivery costs across the archipelago, creating an inflation problem. Analysts see a failure to overhaul infrastructure as a risk that could constrain future growth. -- SPA
