Aurecon has appointed Ichsan Kurniawan as its new country manager for Indonesia, effective 5 August 2021. This move marks another development in the company’s ongoing investment and expansion across Asia.

In his new role, Mr Kurniawan will be responsible for growing Aurecon’s business in Indonesia, with a particular focus on the infrastructure, built environment and energy sectors. He reports to Jean-Marc Girard, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, Aurecon Asia.

“Aurecon has a long-standing reputation for designing innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions that bring value to clients across the project lifecycle through the company’s deep technical and advisory expertise,” said Mr Kurniawan, who is based in Jakarta. “I am inspired at how Aurecon’s designs ensure that clients are ready for the future and engineered for life.

“With the government’s plan to accelerate Indonesia’s infrastructure development, this will be an exciting time to be involved with the country’s engineering sector. Especially with Aurecon’s focus and strong expertise in digital engineering, it will bring value to Indonesia’s engineering sector and lead the delivery of sustainable projects.”

Mr Kurniawan joins Aurecon from AECOM Indonesia where his responsibilities included overseeing the company’s cost management business line for Indonesia and delivery of commercial and contract management on projects. He also brings a wealth of experience from working on high-profile infrastructure projects, such as Jakarta MRT Phase 2, Jakarta LRT Phase 2, North-South Transmission Cable Tunnel in Singapore and Crossrail in the UK.

In the earlier years of his professional career, Mr Kurniawan worked in Singapore, London and Malaysia having been employed by a variety of engineering and construction companies including Mott MacDonald, Vinci Construction (UK) Limited and Bakti Insani Sdn Bhd.

With over 25 years of engineering experience, Mr Kurniawan will bring his insights and knowledge to projects that he and the team will be working on, ensuring quality delivery to Aurecon’s clients.

Pursuing growth in Indonesia

The country is forecast to be one of the fastest-growing construction markets in Southeast Asia, where a range of projects is expected to kick off in light of the IDR 413.8 trillion infrastructure budget approved by the Indonesian government. This will see an acceleration in projects that were delayed over the past year and also growth in the sector, underpinned by several large-scale infrastructure projects particularly in road and power, explained Aurecon. 

The company noted that in addition to the substantial infrastructure investment, Indonesia has also set itself high targets for renewable energy use, where the country is aiming for 23% of the total energy supply to be provided by renewables by 2025 and 31% to be provided by renewables by 2050. This is expected to drive strong demand for solar, wind and other renewable energy sources to replace traditional options, including coal which currently supplies one-third of the country’s energy needs.

Digital transformation too has emerged as a bigger priority particularly in the wake of Covid-19, added Aurecon. The Indonesian government will increasingly look to private investment to drive growth in this area. Plans to improve online access and connectivity for the Indonesian community will include building Base Transceiver Stations in over 5,000 locations and a national data system.

Stephane Asselin, chief executive for Asia at Aurecon, said the company’s long-running success in sustainable and resilient infrastructure development puts it in a strong position to support Indonesia’s ambitious growth plans.

“Indonesia is one of Asia’s biggest economies and a key strategic market for Aurecon, where we believe we have the experience and skills to help the country achieve its ambitious development goals. Ichsan’s in-depth knowledge of the market, strong leadership qualities and excellent track record working on infrastructure projects in Indonesia and internationally make him the ideal choice to lead our local team to excel in this market and bring our clients’ ideas to life,” explained Mr Asselin.

“The country’s prioritisation of infrastructure development, with a focus on digital transformation and renewable energy are aligned with much of Aurecon’s work too.”