Jakarta (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono emphasized that transforming the transportation sector is an important part of addressing Indonesia's future development challenges.”Indonesia needs high economic growth to improve people's welfare. On the other hand, such growth will increase energy demand and put greater pressure on the environment,” he said in a statement here on Friday.Therefore, he said, to support energy demand, transforming the transportation sector is key to ensuring that energy security, economic competitiveness, and sustainability can go hand in hand.The government has continued to strengthen various strategies to achieve energy self-sufficiency, ranging from increasing the biodiesel blend, encouraging oil exploration and boosting crude oil lifting, to building refineries and energy storage facilities, as well as expanding the use of renewable energy.However, Indonesia's challenge in achieving energy self-sufficiency does not end on the production side. Over the past five years, national diesel consumption has increased by 24.5 percent, while domestic diesel production has met only around 51.6 percent of national demand.The situation has also placed pressure on the government's fiscal space, with diesel subsidies and compensation reaching Rp415.84 trillion during the 2019-2024 period.Preliminary modeling by WRI Indonesia also shows that without efforts to curb demand growth, Indonesia may need to resume diesel imports starting in 2027, even if imports are halted in 2026.”Our modeling shows that without significant changes in transportation technology, Indonesia's diesel demand could reach around 87.5 million kiloliters by 2040,” WRI Indonesia Country Director Nirarta Samadhi said.He noted that domestic production capacity is projected to reach 26.5 million kiloliters.”This means that increasing energy supply alone will not be enough. We must also begin managing energy demand, and transforming freight transportation is one of the most important strategies for achieving Indonesia's energy self-sufficiency,” he said.