ADB grants US$600,000 for Jakarta

ADB grants US$600,000 for Jakarta

JAKARTA: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Wednesday it
has approved a US$600,000 grant to help combat the Indonesian
capital's worsening air pollution.

The technical assistance grant of $600,000 will be used to
prepare the "Blue Skies" project to promote clean vehicle fuel in
Jakarta, an ADB statement said.

It said the United Nations ranks Jakarta, a metropolis of more
than 10 million people, as the world's third most polluted mega-
city after Mexico and Bangkok. Traffic fumes are the major source
of air pollution.

Through a previous grant, ADB has been funding a local group
called Friends of Clean Emission to draw up a plan for reducing
vehicular emissions. The government has also been promoting
compressed natural gas (CNG) as a clean fuel.

The ADB grant, provided by its Japan Special Fund, will help
the government promote the use of CNG and map out a plan for
strengthened emission testing and monitoring.

It will plan all elements of the necessary infrastructure for
widespread CNG use.

Jakarta is one of the few major East Asian cities without a
mass transit rail system. Elderly smoke-belching buses are the
main source of public transport.--AFP