Jakarta City Adm ready to invest Rp144 B in monorail project

he Jakarta city administration has expressed readiness to invest Rp144 billion in an on-and-off monorail project for the Indonesia capital and hope that local banks will also participate in it, a report said.

Outgoing governor Sutiyoso sent the Jakarta legislative assembly here Friday a letter on the city administration`s wish to have equity in a consortium to finance the monorail project, beritajakarta.com reported.

The city administration-owned PT Jakarta Propertindo would manage the funds, it said.

"Local banks have asked for certainty that the government will take part in the project. The presence of PT Jakarta Propertindo in the project shows the Jakarta city administration`s commitment to it," Sutiyoso was quoted as saying.

According to Sutiyoso, the private sector would take part in the consortium project provided that national banks were ready to fund it.

Mandiri, BNI 46 and BRI are state banks which have already expressed readiness to participate in the project.

Meanwhile, Jakarta City Administration Secretary Ritola Tasmaya said the Rp144 billion constituted 10 percent of the total amount of funds needed to carry out the monorail project.

According to Ritola, Vice President Jusuf Kalla had decided that 70 percent of the funds needed to build the monorail system would come from the banking sector and the remaining 30 percent from equity.(*)