REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia could witness higher-than-expected economic growth if it could implement a consistent structural reform, deputy country director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

"Indonesia could see an economic growth higher than expected, as its growth potential is ranged between 5.5 to 6 percent," Sona Shrestha said here on Thursday.

In addition to structural reform, Shrestha noted that such a high economic growth could be achieved through sustainable development of infrastructure and efforts to narrow skills gap.

An economic growth of 5.6 percent in 2018, as projected by the government, could be reached with some improvements in domestic performance and global economic recovery.

"The high growth potential is always there, but it should be supported by the government's commitment on sustainable reform and improvement of global environment," she added.

In its annual Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2017, ADB has projected that an increase in private investment and infrastructure expenditure would encourage Indonesia's economic growth to reach 5.1 percent in 2017 and 5.3 percent in 2018.

Some factors that could affect the projection are possible delays on the implementation of policy reform, revenue shortfalls, global policy uncertainties, and lower-than-expected economic growth among its trade partners.

The ADB also noted that the Indonesian government has strongly focused on efforts to encourage reform in infrastructure development that would boost investment and economic diversification in the medium to long term.

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