JAKARTA, 16 August 2023 - The Lead Implementing Body for Sustainable Infrastructure (LIB-SI), Australia’s Partnerships for Infrastructure (P4I) Initiative, and the ASEAN Secretariat, co-organised the Workshop on the Pilot Program on the Framework for Improving ASEAN Infrastructure Productivity on 15 and 16 August in Jakarta.

Over 50 participants including representatives from LIB-SI and line ministries in charge of transport, public works, and infrastructure financing from ASEAN Member States attended the workshop.

LIB-SI Chair and Deputy Minister for Infrastructure Affairs of the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas) Ervan Maksum and Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Will Nankervis delivered the opening remarks.

In his remarks, LIB-SI Chair Ervan Maksum said, “the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 underscores the importance of coordinating resources to deliver support across the full lifecycle of infrastructure projects in ASEAN, which includes project preparation as well as improving infrastructure productivity and capability building. It is why under the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, the Framework for Improving ASEAN Infrastructure Productivity was developed. The framework will provide an avenue for sharing of knowledge, sector-specific insights, and best practices where we can learn from one another and enable policymakers to take concrete actions.”

Ambassador Nankervis highlighted that the pilot programme builds on Australia’s support to ASEAN in developing both the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 (MPAC 2025) and the Framework for Improving ASEAN Infrastructure Productivity. “Australia and ASEAN have been working together for many years to enhance infrastructure investment and productivity in the region, and to promote travel, investment and trade. This pilot training programme responds to the needs of ASEAN Member States who requested more practical ways to implement the Framework for Improving ASEAN Infrastructure Productivity, in alignment with each country’s unique policy and regulatory environment,” he stated.

Government infrastructure experts from the region including Infrastructure Victoria, Partnerships Victoria in Australia, the Department of Rural Roads of Thailand, and the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas) of Indonesia delivered presentations. Best-practice examples and interactive hands-on exercises were also used to apply the framework on a hypothetical road project scenario.

The pilot programme aims to build capacity amongst ASEAN Member States to better understand and implement the Framework for Improving ASEAN Infrastructure Productivity. Three of the framework’s seven productivity workstreams were the focus of the pilot: public investment management, streamlined project implementation, and enhancing productivity of existing assets – each identified by ASEAN as priorities.

Ahead of the pilot programme, LIB-SI and P4I held remote and in-person consultations with relevant agencies to ensure the training programme was tailored to ASEAN Member States’ context.

The Framework for Improving ASEAN Infrastructure Productivity seeks to enhance skills in infrastructure planning, delivery, and operation. It was developed by ASEAN in 2020 with the support from the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program Phase II. To strengthen capacity of ASEAN Member States, LIB-SI explored cooperation with Australia and P4I in 2022 to support the implementation of the framework, including through the development and design of a pilot programme, using hypothetical infrastructure work and scenarios.

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