M

ore than halfway through the year, the Jakarta administration'€™s spending has reached only Rp 12.2 trillion, or 19.23 percent of a planned Rp 63.65 trillion (US$4.7 billion).

In April, the Home Ministry belatedly approved the 2015 city budget at Rp 69.2 trillion following disagreements between the city administration and the Jakarta Council over the draft budget.

Regional Planning and Development Board (Bappeda) head Tuty Kusumawati claimed that the slowing of the national economy had hit Jakarta, causing the city administration to spend slowly.

'€œThe national economy has slowed down in the last few months and this has also affected Jakarta. We are focusing on completing the draft of the revised budget,'€ Tuty said after a meeting at City Hall on Monday.

Jakarta'€™s spending last year reached only Rp 43.4 trillion of the targeted Rp 72.9 trillion, or 59 percent budget absorption.

According to Bappeda data, the Housing and Government Building Agency and Bina Marga, which is in charge of roads, were among the agencies with the lowest direct spending as of July 31.

Bina Marga had only spent 4.93 percent of its budget, or about Rp 280 billion, while the Housing and Government Building Agency as of July 31 had spent only 3.25 percent of its allocation, or roughly Rp 71.2 billion.

Bina Marga head Yusmada Faizal said that a number of his agency'€™s projects had been delayed after it failed to secure a multiyear construction permit from the City Council.

'€œBina Marga is postponing a number of overpass and underpass construction projects,'€ Yusmada told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Monday.

The delayed projects, he said, included overpasses at the Cipinang Lontar railway crossing in East Jakarta, Bintaro crossing in South Jakarta and Jl. Panjang crossing in West Jakarta, as well as an underpass at the Jl. Kartini crossing in Central Jakarta.

'€œWe are currently in discussions with the City Council to secure the multiyear permit so we can allocate the construction of the overpasses and underpass to the 2016 budget,'€ he said.

A lack of multiyear permit also led the Transportation Agency to postpone the renovation of seven terminals, namely Pulo Gadung, Kampung Rambutan and Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta; Ragunan in South Jakarta; Kalideres in West Jakarta; Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta; and Senen in Central Jakarta.

The head of the agency'€™s terminal management unit, Muslim, said that the development of the terminals would not start until next year. The agency, he added, would seek cooperation with private firms to renovate the terminals instead of using city funds.

If a project is not finished within one budget year, the city administration must cease construction by the year'€™s end and hold another bidding process to resume construction in the next budget year unless the project has received a multiyear construction permit, which requires approval from the City Council, approval that for the first time was not given this year.

Separately, Financial and Asset Management Board head Heru Budi Hartono said at City Hall on Monday that he expected the city'€™s spending to pick up this month after working units had completed bidding processes.

'€œMany projects will start this month after bidding processes. We still have several months to complete projects before the budget year ends,'€ Heru said.