Jakarta – A consortium of Indonesian and foreign investors yesterday said they will build a monorail system to ease Jakarta's notorious traffic congestion.

The investors signed a memorandum of understanding to build the 27km line worth about US$600 million. Jakarta's controversial governor Sutiyoso also signed the agreement at Jakarta city hall.

The first in Indonesia, the system will help ease traffic congestion in Jakarta, which has a day population of about 12 million people and night population of about 10 million.

A statement from the investors said the project was a joint venture between Indonesian Transit Central and Omnico Consortium, a British-based holding company.

The monorail will have two lines, one running along the city's main business district of Sudirman Street, and another outer line. A six-month feasibility study would be conducted before construction begins, said I.G.K. Suena, the city's assistant for development administration. He said the project would take three years to complete.

Similar light rail transit systems are already operating in neighbouring South-east Asian capitals Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

The project's announcement comes just four months after Mr Sutiyoso launched the Busway, a 12 km special bus line operating in dedicated lanes along Jalan Sudirman.

Mr Sutiyoso said at the Busway launch that it would form part of an integrated mass transit system including a monorail.

The Busway has proven popular but is widely believed to have worsened traffic congestion in this heavily polluted city.

Mr Sutiyoso said the Sudirman Busway line would be just the first of 14 dedicated bus lines. Civic activists said the Busway was hastily implemented and smelled of corruption.

The monorail is the latest civil development project of Mr Sutiyoso, whom anti-poverty activists accuse of a lack of concern for the city's many poor people.

Last month, the governor oversaw the start of work on a tower which will allegedly be the tallest in the world.