Indonesia expected to drop $19 billion worth of infrastructure projects

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's chief economic minister said on Monday that 14 infrastructure projects, worth 264 trillion rupiah ($19.17 billion), are expected to be dropped from the government's strategic development plan due to lack of progress.

These projects will be dropped if they don't meet some requirements by the third quarter of 2019, Darmin Nasution said, which is the end of President Joko Widodo's current term.

Infrastructure development is one of Widodo's main economic platforms as the economy struggles to remove logistical bottlenecks.

Among the projects expected to be dropped are railways in Kalimantan and South Sumatra and several airport and sea port projects in Java.

"There are projects that have land (acquisition) problems, investor problems, and even there are problems related to the feasibility of the project itself," Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told reporters.

Earlier this year, the government suspended a number of road and rail construction projects after a string of accidents that raised concern about safety.

Nasution said the next government was welcome to reassess and resume the projects, if deemed necessary.

($1 = 13,772 rupiah)

(Reporting by Agustinus Da Costa; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)