T

he city administration is set to cooperate with Swedish companies in implementing electronic-road pricing (ERP) and parking meter projects, a high-ranking official said on Monday.

Swedish Ambassador to Indonesia Johanna Brismar Skoog led on Monday a Swedish delegation in Jakarta '€” including Swedish Ambassador to Singapore HÃ¥kan Jevrell as well as representatives of a number of Swedish companies '€” and met with Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama, who was accompanied by a number of high-ranking officials, to discuss the cooperation.

'€œWe have two very interesting projects on the way now; the electronic road pricing and parking meters. I hope it will be finalized very soon, and we can implement it within this year,'€ Skoog told reporters after the meeting at City Hall.

However, she refused to unveil details regarding the cooperation.

'€œWe haven'€™t signed the contract yet but we hope very much that we would come to that in the near future,'€ she said.

When asked about the potential value of the contract, Skoog said the government would leave it to the cooperating parties.

'€œThat'€™s a matter of negotiation between the city and [Swedish companies],'€ she said.

Ahok pointed out that the cooperation would be carried out under a private-partnership scheme.

'€œWe will use a private partnership. We may take 20 percent of [the profit],'€ he said, adding that the city would hold a beauty contest in the near future.

Ahok was optimistic that the projects would benefit the city administration.

'€œWe have calculated it and we are upbeat this is a profitable project. We managed to boost parking revenue on Jl. Sabang from Rp 500,000 [US$40] to Rp 9 million per day by implementing parking meters,'€ he said.

He cited quality projects and advanced technology as reasons behind his decision to cooperate with the Swedish.

'€œI researched buses that operated for 40 to 50 years in other countries and it turned out they were [Swedish automaker] Scania'€™s. [Swedish parking technology company] Cale has also been used in many countries for over 60 years. That'€™s why I wanted to work together with the Swedish,'€ he said.

'€œWhen we have a limited amount of funds, we should buy quality products even though it will be more expensive because we can'€™t afford to keep buying new ones when they get broken after only a few years,'€ he added.

Aside from transportation projects, the ambassador said that both parties were exploring other potential areas to work together.

'€œWe have been talking about many interesting business opportunities now. There are many areas that we have the technology and expertise that will be very interesting for Jakarta as a city that keeps growing and developing,'€ she said.

'€œI admire [Ahok] for what he'€™s doing in Jakarta,'€she added.

Jevrell pointed out that the Swedish government encouraged Swedish companies to explore opportunities in Indonesia.

'€œWe have approximately 250 Swedish companies in Singapore and of course we want them to come here and find ways to cooperate,'€ he said.

Over 80 Swedish companies '€” including clothing line H&M, furniture producer Ikea and automaker Volvo '€” are operating in Indonesia.