TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Acting Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama said the monorail project might be cancelled. The reason, he said, is that seen from the business aspect, the monorail project does not give benefits for Jakarta.

"If we see from the report, it looks like the project will be cancelled," Ahok said yesterday, adding that president-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has agreed to cancel the project, which was initiated since the era of former Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

"Jokowi has agreed that this project is not financially profitable. The light rail project is more profitable," he said.

Although the groundbreaking of the project was launched by Governor Jokowi on October 16, 2013, the construction remains stagnant following Ahok's demands for a number of requirements to the developer PT. Jakarta Monorail.

Those requirements include the business plan, properties, bank guarantees, and design of the building construction.

As for the bank guarantees, Ahok asked PT Jakarta Monorail to meet the demand of the Jakarta provincial government to provide a five-percent guarantee from the total value of the project that reaches Rp15 trillion. However, PT Jakarta Monorail could not meet the demand and could only give a one-percent collateral.

ERWAN HERMAWAN