Governor Fauzi Bowo Tuesday promised developers he would accelerate the processing procedure for construction-licenses to lure more low-cost apartment projects in the city.

"We can cut the period of license issuance from the regular 45 days to only 24 hours only if developers and the administration are on the same chapter," he said.

The policy change comes in response to complaints addressed by representatives of the Jakarta chapter of Indonesian Real Estate Developers Association (REI Jakarta) that the process was overly complex and discouraged interest in the business.

"We (the association and the administration) are committed to and take responsibility for this low-cost apartment development, and things will not continue as they have in the past," said Fauzi after a meeting with REI Jakarta representatives at City Hall.

He also said developers should not fear limited land availability because the administration had earmarked a number of project sites, including Pulo Gebang in East Jakarta, Kemayoran in Central Jakarta, Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta and Cengkareng in West Jakarta.

City Housing Agency head Agus Subardono said the administration would assign a task force to speed up the on-going low-cost apartment constructions.

The task force would consist of representatives of the city housing agency, the city property and management control agency, the city spatial planning agency and a city-appointed team in charge of giving architectural advice, as well as REI Jakarta, Agus said

Last month, Vice President Jusuf Kalla scolded officials over a lack of progress in housing projects during a tour of a low-cost apartment complex in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

The low-cost apartment program in the city is part of the central government's plan to build 1,000 such towers with prices of apartments ranging between Rp 90 million (US$9,793) and Rp 144 million in 10 big cities.

Besides Jakarta, cities to attain such infrastructure include Medan, North Sumatra; Batam, Riau Islands; Palembang, South Sumatra; Bandung, West Java; Semarang, Central Java; Yogyakarta; Surabaya, East Java; Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan; and Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The apartments, expected to be completed by 2012, are designed to accommodate those living in small houses and slum areas and to help overcome the issue of available space in the cities.