Freeport Indonesia no longer alone<\/p>\n
By Imanuddin<\/p>\n
TIMIKA, Irian Jaya (JP): For more than 25 years, PT Freeport
\nIndonesia Company was virtually the only investor in Irian Jaya,
\nmanaging a highly profitable copper and gold mining operation in
\nthe province's hinterland.<\/p>\n
The American company built its own infrastructure and
\nfacilities, constructing new settlements to house the thousands
\nof people it brought in for its huge operation in and around
\nTimika.<\/p>\n
But now, with the government campaigning for investors,
\nforeign and local, to \"go east\" and develop the country's eastern
\nprovinces, including Irian Jaya, Freeport is no longer alone.<\/p>\n
Investors are slowly trickling into the province for a share
\nof the Irian Jaya pie.<\/p>\n
\"There were almost no investors willing to put their money in
\nIrian Jaya in the old days,\" President of PT Freeport Indonesia
\nCompany Hoediatmo Hoed said at the recent grand opening of the
\nSheraton Inn Timika in Timika.<\/p>\n
\"We built the Amamapare seaport, the Timika airport, a 110-
\nkilometer long road, the Tembagapura city, and mining facilities
\nin 1972,\" Hoediatmo recalled.<\/p>\n
In all, Freeport invested US$176 million for the construction
\nof the facilities and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
That is on top of the $2.5 billion it has sunk into the mining
\noperation since the company was granted the mining license in
\n1967. Its concession now covers 2.6 million hectares.<\/p>\n
In those years, Freeport was wholly American, with all its
\nshares owned by Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Co. Not until
\n1991, when Freeport Indonesia secured an extension of its mining
\nlicense for 30 more years, did the government buy a 10 percent
\nstake and a private local company, PT Indocopper Investama of the
\nBakrie Group, another 10.<\/p>\n
With the arrival of new investors into Irian Jaya, including
\ninto Timika, Freeport can now contract out some of the non-mining
\nwork that it previously had to handle itself.<\/p>\n
Their arrival is timely as the company is now undergoing a
\nmajor expansion.<\/p>\n
Hoediatmo said Freeport wants to refocus on its core business,
\nthe copper and gold mining operation. \"Several branches and
\nservices will be more effective if they are handled by
\nspecialists in their fields,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He cited as examples the management and ownership of the
\nAmamapare seaport and the management of food provision in the
\nmining areas, both of which have now been transferred to ALatieF
\nCorporation.<\/p>\n
The expansion of Freeport's operation also requires additional
\nworkers to be stationed in the area, and this means that the
\ncompany needs more housing facilities for them.<\/p>\n
He said there are now about 15,000 employees, including 1,650
\nIrianese, working in the mining areas.<\/p>\n
The current community settlements, Tembagapura City, Hidden
\nValley Residence, and Ridge Camp, can no longer accommodate the
\nadditional workers that are coming in.<\/p>\n
\"We are working on a construction of a few thousands units of
\nhouses and also a number of apartments on a 2,000-hectare plot of
\nland in a location temporarily called New Town,\" he said.<\/p>\n
New Town, the name temporarily used while waiting for a name
\nto be given to the settlement by President Soeharto, will include
\na supermarket, a recreation center, a sports center, as well as
\nschools.<\/p>\n
He said the construction of the town will be financed by a
\nconsortium of PT Freeport Indonesia, ALatieF Corporation and PT
\nPuri. He declined to mention the total investment for the town.<\/p>\n
He said the developer is currently completing the construction
\nof the first phase of 400 houses for Freeport's employees.<\/p>\n
\"The New Town will also be open for employees from other
\ncompanies and for local people,\" he said.<\/p>",
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