Damiana Ningsih Simanjuntak – The Minister of Industry on Tuesday said that the government has no plan to curb the production of local vehicles, despite admitting that traffic jams are a persistent problem.

"I would not curb automotive production," Industry Minister MS Hidayat said. "I've told the president that I instead want to support the production, including pushing ahead exports in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The automotive industry is a prioritized sector in the national industry policy."

He said that the government plans to develop full manufacturing vehicle production capabilities, including design, engineering and production of local components. Hidayat estimated that by 2013, national car production could reach 1 million units.

Hidayat said that traffic jams were not caused by the number of vehicles on road, but were instead attributable to limited road infrastructure. He blamed the long process for land appropriation delaying needed road projects as one of the primary culprits for poor infrastructure.

He also blamed bad traffic management for causing traffic jams in many big Indonesian cities. "It causes chaotic traffic," Hidayat said. "So, don't blame the national car production."