JAKARTA • Indonesia's Finance Ministry is preparing a mechanism for foreign assistance in the redevelopment and reconstruction of the earthquake and tsunami-hit areas in Palu, Donggala and surrounding cities in Central Sulawesi.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said many countries had offered assistance to carry out the reconstruction of residential areas and infrastructure ravaged by the disasters that led to more than 1,500 deaths.

"There are countries that have stated the amounts of the assistance. So we need to draft a mechanism on how to receive the assistance in the form of cash," Dr Sri Mulyani said at the State Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, the kontan.co.id website reported.

She said such assistance would be used to recover and reconstruct Central Sulawesi's cities hit by the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that was followed by a tsunami on Sept 28. She added that the government was focusing on emergency work to help the survivors of the disaster.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto previously said at least 17 countries had offered assistance to Indonesia. The countries are Singapore, the United States, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Norway, Hungary, Turkey, Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, India and China. The European Union and the United Nations Development Programme has also offered aid.

Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said, for example, India offered US$1 million (S$1.38 million) to reconstruct houses, adding: "We are calculating how many houses can be constructed with the money."

THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK