Jakarta's administration said it would consider reinvesting in monorail developer PT Jakarta Monorail in a move to encourage local banks to help jump start the city's long abandoned monorail project.

But Governor Fauzi Bowo said Wednesday no decision would be made about PT Jakarta Monorail until the developer passed a feasibility study .

"I would rather finance a project that I run on my own instead of putting the administration's money at stake in somebody else's project," he said.

"I don't know how that person will eventually spend the money."

The monorail project has been faced with financing problems for years.

In a meeting at the vice presidential office last July, a consortium of local banks committed to finance up to 70 percent of the $480 million needed for the project via a loan.

The remaining 30 percent, or $144 million, would come from private, state and city-owned firms in combined equity.

Bank DKI, as well as state-owned Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and Bank Rakyat Indonesia, are members of the local bank consortium.

The administration said it had 10 percent worth of shares of the $144 million in combined equity through city-owned property firm PT Jakarta Propertindo.

The central government controls 21 percent of that equity through state-owned construction firm PT Adhi Karya.

Both the central government and the administration had yet to fulfill their commitment to providing a total of $73.44 million, or 51 percent of the equity, as agreed during the July 2007 meeting.

The meeting also concluded the remaining 49 percent of the equity, or $70.56 million, would be provided by Jakarta Monorail and other prospective financiers.

Jakarta Monorail director Sukmawaty Syukur said she sent the governor a letter last week to ask for the administration's commitment toward the project.

"Jakarta Monorail is now giving up the $480 million project to the governor, while waiting for his decision," she said.

Earlier, BNI and Bank Mandiri had expressed their objections to join the project if the administration refused to increase its stakes at Jakarta Monorail.

"There is no way we would step into the project if the administration does not have any direct stakes at the company," senior vice president of corporate banking of Bank Mandiri, Suwhono said.

He said Jakarta Monorail's existing condition and the project itself were not convincing enough for the bank to consider the project.

City-owned Bank DKI spokesman Romy Wijayanto said the local banks were now waiting for the governor's decision to determine the future of this project.

Romy said the consortium had been reluctant during the last meeting because of regulation uncertainty.

He said this was despite the government's letter of guarantee for the project.

The letter was a request from Jakarta Monorail and potential financiers.