Ahok revealed that a number of consultants trusted with research on the development of a sports hall in 10 different districts in the city had deliberately marked up construction expenses.

"The Pancoran district office hired a consultant to help build a sports hall, which will be built on a 3,000 square-meter plot of land. They offered basic facilities, nothing fancy. But the consultant said it would cost us Rp 48 billion [US$3.6 million]. Isn't that crazy?" Ahok said.

He said that he then tasked the district office to keep track of expenses and also personally hired a foreign consultant to perform calculations.

"The district office came up with Rp 28 billion with the same facilities while the foreign consultant came up with Rp 46 billion, but with much better, international-standard facilities," Ahok said, adding that such a strategy was common in the city administration.

The consultant also advised similar planning for nine other subdistricts.

Ahok said that he reported the incident to Budi, who said that the police would look into the matter so long as the documents were complete. Budi, meanwhile, left through the back door to avoid questions from reporters. (++++)

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