PUTRAJAYA, March 11 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak expressed condolences and sympathy to the government and people of Japan in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami which struck that country today.
Najib conveyed the message at the outset of his speech opening the Malay Language International Oratory Competition for the PM’s Trophy 2011 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here tonight.
A devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck offshore northern Japan today and unleashed a 10-metre high tsunami which lashed the country, killing at least 59 people in the twin disasters.
A tsunami warning was also issued for all countries of the Pacific Basin except the United States and Canada.
– BERNAMA
BERITAJAKARTA.COM — 2/17/2010 9:02:26 PM Jakarta Capital City Government and PT Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) are expected to receive the loan fund disbursement from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in 2011, following the almost completed draft of final report of feasibility study of MRT project Phase II (Dukuh Atas-Kota). The drafting process is currently in the stage of finalizing Environmental Impact Assessment (Amdal). Director of Cooperative Function of PT MRT Jakarta, Eddy Santoso said the Amdal process was expected to finish in March 2010. “We have made the socialization to the people living around the project location (Dukuh Atas-Harmoni),” said Edy Santoso after meeting with Commission B of City Council, Jakarta, Wednesday (2/17). The Amdal report will be later submitted to JICA, a subsidiary of JBIC, for evaluation. The per-kilometer project is estimated to cost between US$ 81.6 million (Rp 767 billion) and US$131.9 million (Rp 1.24 trillion). Eddy hoped the basic design of the MRT Phase II could run parallel with the physical construction, so that the seven-year construction target could be achieved. The underground channel/subway of the project is planned to start from Dukuh Atas, Hotel Indonesia to Glodok; while, the elevated lane will run from Glodok to Kota. The 7.4 km total lane of MRT phase II will have nine subway stations. Fund used for the first stage of MRT II comes from JICA (RP 8.36 trillion), central government (Rp 1.25 trillion, and city’s regional budget (Rp 0.65 trillion). The 30- year JICA loan has a 10-year grace period which will be borne by city government (Rp 4.8 trillion), and the rest by the central government. After the grace period, the obligation to cover the project financing of Rp 651 billion will be taken from the city’s regional budget by Rp 184 billion each year. Of the loan scheme, the fund disbursement has now only reached Rp 5.5 trillion which is divided into two stages. Currently, there are three Japanese contractors which have expressed their interest in the project, namely Sumitomo Corp., Marubeni Corp. and Itochu Corp. The tender itself is scheduled next year. While for MRT Phase I (Lebak Bulus-Dukuh Atas), the basic design work has been running for three months, and is expected to be completed in November 2010, then followed with the project tender, and the physical construction in January 2011 “We are now at the stage of survey data collection and a review of traffic forecast, “he explained regarding the MRT Phase I. Translator: halim
Encompassing a population of some 1.5 billion people, the Southwest Asian region includes about 500 million people living in poverty, the second highest ratio in the world after sub-Sahara Africa. Development lags in areas such as health and education, and the gender disparity remains unchanged. The region has a wide variety of ethnicities, religions and languages, however, it is unstable politically and socially and includes conflict areas.
Since 2003 when the tense relations between India and Pakistan relaxed, economic activities in the Southwest Asian countries have intensified. The economies are in relatively strong shape, with India showing its remarkable economic growth in recent years as an exemplar. Such positive economic factors are expected to lead to regional stability, though a number of destabilizing political factors will remain.
Central Asia and the Caucasus
As a central part of the Silk Road that ties together Asia and Europe, the Central Asian and Caucasus region has been an area through which people and goods have moved since ancient times mainly for trade. Today, the region encompasses eight countries and has more than 15 years of independence since the breakup of the Soviet Union. The direction and pace of development in the region varies depending on the county, with some having undergone extensive market economy transitions, some remaining poverty stricken and their political and economic systems remaining closed, and still others having experienced changes of government through democratic revolution.
The region is blessed with abundant natural resources including oil and gas on the shores of the Caspian Sea and rare metals such as uranium. Given this background, the international community has watched the region with interest in recent years, and the redevelopment of roads and rail as well as the laying of a new pipeline has begun.
The life outside of the major cities is harsh, and the critical problems of reducing poverty and fighting unemployment remain unsolved. As each country establishes itself as an independent nation, there is an increasing need for progress in intraregional cooperation in regionally shared issues such as democratization and establishing a structure suitable for a market economy, and issues that exceed national borders such as the traffic and transportation infrastructure.
Since the People’s Republic of China instituted its reform and open-door policies at the end of the 1970s, Japan has provided assistance to further those policies, and has contributed to China’s remarkable economic development for more than twenty years. With the rapid economic development and changes in China’s economic structure, the needs for assistance there have changed, and moreover, the economic and financial circumstances in Japan have increased the focus on the effectiveness and efficiency of assistance. As a result, Japan stopped providing new Japanese ODA loans for China in fiscal 2008.
Meanwhile, the economy in Mongol has been in disorder since the dismantling of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) in 1991. A powerful economic stabilization policy and assistance from foreign countries, mainly Japan, has gradually stabilized the situation since 1995.
