REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- To boost development, some Rp399.2 trillion public debt, projected in the 2018 state budget draft, will be allocated to fund some productive programs, mainly in the education, health, and local development sectors.

The statement was announced by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati during a press conference on the financial note and bill of the 2018 state budget draft in Jakarta, Wednesday.

"The authority commits to maintaining the state budget in a productive, efficient, and prudent manner," she stated.

Compared to the 2017 state budget revision, which allocated some Rp427 trillion for the debt, in the upcoming year, the number would decrease.

According to the minister, the drop is expected to control the deficit by 2.19 percent against the gross domestic product (GDP), or around Rp325.9 trillion.

"In order to maintain the fiscal to remain sustainable, we seek to control the debt ratio by 27 to 29 percent against the GDP," she added.

In accordance with the plan, the government has sufficed the loan by issuing Sovereign Debt Papers worth Rp414.7 trillion and loan amounting to Rp15.5 trillion.

Some Rp65.7 trillion worth debt will be designed to aid infrastructure investments and to develop micro- and medium-sized businesses.

Some Rp3.6 trillion was allocated to state-owned enterprises, Rp57.4 trillion for the direct aid program, Rp2.1 trillion for the international finance agency, and Rp2.5 trillion for other investments, according to the minister.

In order to effectively spend the debt, the government has planned to allocate the loan to some programs for improving education, increasing public access to affordable housing, and accelerating some infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, the loan was also allocated to restore the environment as well as to support environment-friendly enterprises.

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