Indonesia is no rush to make good on its promise to open up to air freight services from other Southeast Asian nations, an official has said.

The ministry of transportation's director general for air transportation, Budhi Mulyawan Suyitno, said the proposed "open sky" policy would not take effect until local air cargo firms were able to withstand competition from foreign carriers.

"It is too early to implement it (the policy). Multilaterally, we have agreed to the concept, but its implementation depends on bilateral agreements, which are not easy," he was quoted as saying in June 2's The Jakarta Post newspaper.

Indonesia, along with nine other countries grouped in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), signed in September 2002 a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the liberalization of air freight services.

Under the MoU, ASEAN members must open up air routes linking their capital cities to all member cargo companies by December 2008, and then expand the routes to other cities by 2015.

The member countries will be allowed to operate all-cargo services with a maximum load of up to 250 tons per week but without limitations on flight frequencies and aircraft type.

However, the implementation of the policy demands all members ink a bilateral deal.

The liberalization policy falls under the so-called ASEAN Single Aviation Market Framework, which is aimed at integrating transport systems in the region by 2015.

"Our local players are not yet ready to serve internationally. So, if the policy is implemented, I'm afraid it will only benefit foreign players," Budhi said.

PT Republic Express, PT Cardig Air and PT Tri MG are the country's only local air cargo providers.