In the inception, major cities in Indonesia were developed based on commercial trading activity patterns. The growth of the cities was influenced by business sectors that provided dominant economic contribution to the region. Today, the majority of cities in Java are still dominated by trading and industrial activites, while major cities in Sumater, Kalimantan and Sulawesi are largely supported by plantation, oil and mining sector activities. Moreover, some other key cities such as Denpasar, Bandung, Bogor and Yogyakarta rely heavily on the tourism industry. 

Expansions of Indonesia's infrastructure has not been able to keep up with its robust macroeconomic expansions since the recovery from the Asian's financial crisis in the late 1990s. As a consequence, itc economic growth is unable to reach it's full potential. However, on a positive thrend. President Joko Widodo has made a strong commitment to improve Indonesia's infrastructure by increasing private investmen through Public Privtae Partnership (PPPs) and government spending through the 2015-2019 National Medium Term Development Plan of Rp5.5 Trillion in total investment.