Office project postponed

TANGERANG (JP): The Tangerang mayoralty has been forced to postpone the construction of an administration office project worth Rp 18 billion (US$1.6 million) due to a lack of funds, an official said on Monday.

The mayoralty's spokesman, Harry Mulya Zein, said the project, located in Tanah Tinggi subdistrict, was originally scheduled to be completed in November.

The postponement, he said, was due to a sharp drop in local government revenue from an estimated Rp 42 billion to only Rp 29 billion for the 1998/1999 fiscal year.

"The economic crisis has also raised the cost of the project to Rp 18 billion from Rp 10 billion," he said.

The office building was intended to accommodate the mayoralty's secretarial workers.

The mayoralty, however, has decided to continue the construction of an underpass in Cikokol costing Rp 21 billion. The central government reportedly has pledged to disburse Rp 1.6 billion to help finance the project. (41/jun)