TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD) member from PDIP faction Manuara Siahaan said hosting five seasons of the Formula E electric car racing event will cost Rp4.48 trillion, consisting of Rp2.354 trillion for commitment fees, Rp1.239 trillion for the implementation of the events, and Rp890 billion for a bank guarantee.

“Based on Jakpro’s latest explanation to Commission B, the bank guarantee has been returned,” said Manuara at the Jakarta DPRD Building, Central Jakarta, Tuesday, August 31.

Manuara said the cost was different from that outlined in the feasibility study submitted by city-owned developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), which only included the implementation cost of Rp1.2 trillion.

When referring to Jakpro's initial feasibility study, Jakarta will gain profit totaling Rp3.12 trillion, with details of Jakpro's financial income of Rp544 billion and the economic impact reaching Rp2.58 trillion.

However, if the commitment fee and bank guarantee are included, Manuara went on, the city administration will actually incur losses. “At the end of the event, the loss will be Rp1.3 trillion,” he said.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had also asked Jakpro to write a new feasibility study as it did not describe whole financing activities.

Amid the controversy over the international electric car motor racing, Governor Anies Baswedan dismissed Jakpro president director Dwi Wahyu Daryoto who also handled other projects, such as the construction of Jakarta International Stadium and the revitalization of Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM).

The high cost of Rp4.48 trillion for hosting five seasons of Formula E was one of the reasons the PDIP faction and PSI Faction proposed interpellation rights to Governor Anies Baswedan. They questioned the provincial government’s reasons for insisting on holding the events in 2022 and noted it as one of the regional priority events in the Gubernatorial Instruction No. 49 of 2021.

Read: Jakarta to Collaborate with Private Parties to Finance Formula E

ADAM PRIREZA