JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia’s capital plans to invest 571 trillion rupiah ($40.27 billion) to upgrade its transportation and other infrastructure in the next 10 years, its governor was reported by media as saying on Wednesday.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said he has submitted a list of proposals to President Joko Widodo including plans to expand the city’s new mass rapid transit (MRT) system and build a 120 km-long light transit railway.
Other projects include investments in a clean water pipeline and waste management projects.
“We will extend the MRT. It’s now 16 km (9.9 miles), but later 231 km more will be built,” he said, as reported by media.
The projects will be funded mostly through debt, Baswedan said.
Next week, the traffic-clogged city will open to public its $3 billion MRT system, running from south to central Jakarta along its main thoroughfares.
The project, funded by a loan from the Japanese government, is a centre-piece of an infrastructure boom under Widodo.
Widodo is vying for re-election on April 17 against opposition candidate, retired general Prabowo Subianto.
Delayed for more than 20 years, the MRT was finally launched in 2013, with the first line originally scheduled to open in 2018.
The national government will explore creative financing options to fund the newly proposed projects alongside the Jakarta administration, Luky Alfirman, director general of budget financing at the finance ministry, said.
Reporting by Maikel Jefriando; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Kim Coghill
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.