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The city of Jakarta (Indonesia) is considering a public-private partnership (PPP) to finance the second line of the mass rapid transit (MRT) connecting the capital's east and west.

Financing for the second line would deviate from the funding model used to finance construction of the first MRT line, a foreign loan by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

This announcement follows the beginning of the construction works of the first metro line on April 4. The first line will connect Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.

 Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, Deputy Governor, stated:

The difference will be in the financing arrangement. We don't want to use a foreign loan to finance the east-west line. We aim to find private investors in a PPP arrangement with (city-owned MRT operator) PT MRT Jakarta at the helm.

Dono Boestami, PT MRT Jakarta president director, stated:

We are open to working together with any investors so long as the cooperation will benefit the city administration and that we get the lowest bid.

The east-west corridor is expected to be approximately 87km long and it is expected to become operational between 2024 and 2027. Two alternate routes have been suggested for this corridor.

The complete MRT Jakarta project will cover 110.8 kilometers and consist of two main lines: a north-south line and an east-west line. The project is being implemented by the provincial government Daerah Khusus Ibukota (DKI) Jakarta through the land transportation authority PT Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta (PT MRT Jakarta) who will also be the operator of the system.