State Firms To Unite for Jakarta Water Project

Agustiyanti. Jakarta Globe, 25/01/2012

The central government plans to invite three state-owned enterprises to set up a consortium to build a water project in West Java, an official said on Wednesday. 

Sumaryanto Widayatin, the deputy minister of infrastructure and logistics at the State Enterprise ministry, said toll road operator Jasa Marga, water company Perum Jasa Tirta II and housing developer Pembangunan Perumahan had been requested to form a consortium for the job. 

Building costs for the project, which is expected to begin full operation in mid-2014, is estimated at $189.3 million. 

The project would a service a water pipeline from the Jatiluhur reservoir, 70 kilometers east of Jakarta, in West Java. Water would be supplied via an open channel from Jatiluhur, going through Karawang, Bekasi and finally to Jakarta. 

Water projects are part of the country’s overall infrastructure plan, which include toll roads, seaports and airports, among other initiatives. 

Some of the plan’s projects include a railway project to connect Soekarno Hatta International Airport to Manggarai in South Jakarta ($735 million), the Tanah Ampo Cruise Terminal in Bali ($30 million), the Medan-Kualanamu toll road in North Sumatra ($475 million) and the Umbulan water plant in Pasuruan, East Java ($200 million). 

The central government has flagged its intention to spend $160 billion on infrastructure through 2015 and plans for about 43 percent of the funding to come through partnerships. 

In public-private partnership schemes, the government offers projects to private firms along with help navigating the maze of regulations that often proves a hindrance to development. 

Sumaryanto said that Jasa Marga would be in charge of dealing with land acquisition, Tirta would deal with pipeline works and Perusahaan Perumaha would handle the design of the water projects. 

Sumaryanto said the project was needed to help deal with the poor quality and lack of water in the capital and for the 15 million people living in the surrounding area. 

The infrastructure plan hopes to boost development in an effort to reduce poverty and achieve a yearly economic growth target of 7 percent by 2014. The Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Growth (MP3EI) was introduced last year.