Thailand
Indonesia: Minister proposes to set JV firm to handle LRT project
The government has not found an answer to who is responsible for the Greater Jakarta light rail transit (LRT) project after State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Rini Soemarno expressed her wish to review the role of state-owned railway operator PT KAI as an investor.
Rini proposed to establish a joint venture company on Tuesday, consisting of PT KAI, state-owned construction company PT Adhi Karya and state-owned financing firm PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur.
“KAI should be an investor. It should be a joint venture firm, said Sri Mulyani in Jakarta on Tuesday, as reported by kompas.com.
In her letter to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, Rini expressed her concern about KAI’s financial health if the company had to be responsible for financing the LRT project.
Currently, KAI acts as the main investor in the project, where costs have increased to Rp 31 trillion (US$2.29 billion) from the initial cost of Rp 26.7 trillion, after an agreement at a meeting led by Maritime Affairs Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan on Nov. 10.
She said the establishment of a joint venture was being coordinated with other relevant ministers, including Budi and Luhut.
“The establishment [of the joint venture] is still in the process. Insya Allah[God willing], we will hold a meeting with the coordinating minister to make a decision next week so that the [joint venture] can be established next month,” she said, adding that a separate company could be more flexible. (bbn)