JAKARTA. The 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 Håkan Jevrell as well as representatives of a number of Swedish companies — and met with Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who was accompanied by a number of high-ranking officials, to discuss the cooperation.

“We 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.

“We 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.

“That’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.

“We 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.

“We 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.

“I 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.

“When 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.

“We 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.

“I 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.

“We 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. (Sita W Dewi)

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie