JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The Jakarta administration is setting up a two-hectare plot of land in Rorotan public cemetery in North Jakarta for Covid-19 graves as burial space for victims of the coronavirus in the capital city is running out.

Jakarta Bina Marga road agency head Hari Nugroho said the administration was currently preparing the land to be used for burials and building the necessary infrastructure.

"We're preparing the land and building a road to access the cemetery. Construction progress is at 4 per cent," Mr Hari said on Monday (Sept 28) as quoted by tempo.co.

The agency will also level the land surface to make the burial process easier. The project started on Sept 17 and is expected to finish in December.

"We expect this two-hectare burial space to accommodate 6,000 funerals," Mr Hari said.

The city administration provided the additional land for Covid-19 graves as coronavirus cases in Jakarta continue to rise and burial grounds designated for the victims have started to run out.

Mr Nadi, the management officer of Pondok Ranggon public cemetery in East Jakarta, said on Sept 14 that there was only space left for another 1,100 Covid-19 burials in the cemetery's southern area of 7,000 square metres.

The capacity was likely to be critical in mid-October and it was estimated that, in October, the remaining land may only be able to accommodate 380 to 400 bodies, he added.

Since the pandemic hit the country in March, 6,248 bodies have been buried with Covid-19 protocols in Jakarta.

In September, the capital city recorded 1,372 Covid-19-related burials, the highest monthly rise yet.