Assessment of policy coordination and communication in the development of the Makassar–Parepare railway line

A new railway line being built in the province of South Sulawesi has the potential to change both social mobility and economic growth. In that context, this study looked at the important role of policy coordination and communication in making the railway a success.

This ambitious railway project faces many challenges including land acquisition delays, confusion over responsibility between the national government and local authorities and the physical reality of the potential for flooding and sound amplification.

The study revealed that the provincial government has a critical role to play in coordinating with all the key stakeholders at this juncture of the railway’s development to ensure the project is completed successfully.

Our research has identified occasional discrepancies in planning approaches among the central (Indonesian), regional (South Sulawesi) and local (district) governments.

Click here to read full report Assessment of policy coordination and communication in them development of the Makassar–Parepare railway line.

Such discrepancies can lead to what can be described as a “crisis of complexity” or “hyper regulation”.

Our research allows us to make a number of recommendations in terms of policy and project coordination. These recommendations include:

• Overcome hyper-regulation. There is a problem of legislative complexity (hyper-regulation) across three levels of government that needs to be overcome. Authorities need to analyse the regulatory environment and identify the key problems. Further recommendations can then be made to harmonise the legislative environment.
• Land acquisitions. We recommend that the South Sulawesi government take the lead in land acquisitions to overcome a process that is slow and sometimes unclear.

Feature image by PAIR.