Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Jakarta Provincial Government has invited private developers to participate in the construction of light rail transit (LRT) in the capital.

The offer was directly made by Governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama after a meeting with a number of private companies to discuss the construction of the LRT.

"We have already met with several private companies to discuss the LRTs construction. Their responses have been positive," Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said here on Thursday.

According to him, the private sectors involvement is needed, considering the lack of funds in the 2015 local budget.

"We do not intend to allocate budget for the construction of the LRT this year because we want to involve the private sector," he stated.

Basuki expects the construction of the mass transportation to start as soon as possible.

"We want to begin the construction of the LRT soon so it will be ready for the Asian Games. We are building this mass transportation system to support the Asian Games in Jakarta later. We hope the construction can be finished in over three years," Basuki remarked.

To speed up the development process, he noted, the Jakarta government has asked private developers interested in the project to immediately submit the technical documents of LRT by January 30, 2015.

According to him, the private companies that attended the meeting included Sedayu Group, Agung Podomoro, JIExpo, Summarecon, Panin Group, Lippo Group, and Intiland.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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