REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian economy must grow by more than 5 percent in the second quarter of 2015 to achieve the economic growth target for this year, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said.

"It must be above 5 percent. The finance minister continues to discuss the current economy and the next steps to be taken," he stated at the Vice Presidential Office here on Wednesday (6/5).

To achieve the target, the government will expedite the disbursement of budget funds for developmental projects, he affirmed.

"We must expedite the disbursement of funds from the budget for developmental projects. That is why we will check how much budget we now have for development," he added.

On Wednesday, President Joko Widodo held a meeting at the Presidential Office with Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Agus Martowardojo to discuss the latest economic developments.

According to Martowardojo, to keep the inflation rate in check, the government will invite regional heads to a national coordination meeting at the end of this month.

"The president will lead the national coordination meeting. Why will the meeting be held? This is because we need coordination among ministries and regional governments to control the inflation rate," he explained.

Inflation must be controlled because it reduces people's income. Therefore, a rise in the prices of goods and services will be burdensome due to the decline in the rupiah's exchange rate, he noted.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced on Tuesday that the Indonesian economy grew at a slower pace of 4.71 percent in the first quarter of 2015 as compared to 5.14 percent in the corresponding period last year.

"The economic growth of China, an export destination of Indonesia, coupled with the low global oil prices and declining export and import performances affected the economic performance in the first quarter," Chairman of the BPS Suryamin remarked during a press conference.

On the production side, the information and communication sector registered the highest growth, contributing 10.53 percent to economic growth, while household consumption grew 5.01 percent.

Compared to the previous quarter, the economic growth in the first quarter of 2015 fell 0.18 percent from 5.02 percent.

However, BI has predicted that the national economic growth will rebound in the second quarter of 2015 after contracting to 4.71 percent in the previous quarter.

"Government spending is expected to increase in the second quarter of 2015, which will serve as a stimulus to boost economic growth," Executive Director of the Communications Department of BI Tirta Segara noted here on Tuesday.

Segara has forecast that investment will increase in the remaining three quarters as well, along with increased government spending on infrastructure projects.

"This is in line with the progress report on the construction of various infrastructure projects," he said.

After all, the national economy still runs the risk of moving closer to the lower target limit of 5.4 to 5.8 percent this year, he pointed out.

The attainment of the economic growth target will depend on how quickly the government can realize various infrastructure projects, besides ensuring strong consumption and gradually improving exports, he emphasized.

"BI will continue to monitor various internal and external developments to ensure that the national economy grows in a healthy and sustainable way," he affirmed.

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