"If it is handed by the regional administration we, state-owned companies, are ready."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said the government would rely on state-owned enterprises for the funding of the mass rapid transport development in Jakarta.

He said here on Wednesday Japan had so far been vacillating so that the government had decided to give precedence to the state-owned enterprises to play a role in the project aimed to ease traffic in the capital.

"(Japan has been undecided) including JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). At the time they said they would earmark Rp10 trillion in funds for the project but until now there has been no followup by the Japanese so that the government thinks we had better push the state-owned companies to go ahead first," he said.

He said it did not mean that Japan had been scrapped from the project because the government still opened its door for any investor from that country to invest in the project.

For the time being, however, Freddy said the government would prioritize the role of the state-owned companies in the project that would also involve the Indonesia Railway Company (PT KAI).

He said funding would not become a problem as many domestic banks were also interested to get involved in the project.

State-enterprises minister Mustafa Abubakar shared his view saying that funding was an easy matter as state-owned companies also had funds that have been made into equities while state-owned banks had also expressed their interest in joining the infrastructure development project.

Mustafa expressed state-owned companies` readiness to get involved in the consortium and funding for the project. "If it is handed by the regional administration we, state-owned companies, are ready," he said.

He said state-owned companies such as PT KAI, Wika, Jasa Marga and Adhi Karya, were ready to get involved in the project that would also include toll road development.

He said however that until no word had been received from the Jakarta provincial administration with regard to state-owned companies` involvement in the project.

"But we have said if the Jakarta administration is ready we have six state-owned companies ready for cooperation," he said.
(T.D013*G003/H-YH/HAJM/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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