Govt submits bill on construction services to House<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government submitted on Monday the bill on
\nconstruction services to the House of Representatives, which is
\nexpected to give more leverage to local construction firms.<\/p>\n
Minister of Public Works Rachmadi B. Sumadhijo said on Monday
\nthe bill would provide legal clarity to the construction
\nindustry, which contributes about 65 percent of investment value
\nto national development.<\/p>\n
\"The bill will empower our contractors to enable them to
\nincrease their competitiveness,\" Rachmadi said, after a meeting
\nwith House Commission IV for public works.<\/p>\n
He submitted the bill earlier on Monday at the House's plenary
\nsession.<\/p>\n
Chapters in the bill delineate the responsibilities of each
\nparty involved in a project when a construction fails. It
\nstipulates which parties will be responsible if a building or a
\nconstruction deteriorates within a period of 10 years, he said.<\/p>\n
The current 1941 law on construction from the Dutch colonial
\ngovernment only provides a one-year period during which
\nconstruction failures are guaranteed, he said.<\/p>\n
Rachmadi said parties involved in projects would install an
\nindependent team to determine responsibility for faults in
\nconstruction deterioration.<\/p>\n
\"If it is the contractor's fault, then a penalty will be
\nimposed. The same thing applies to the project owners or
\nmanagement and the consultants.\"<\/p>\n
A construction firm must also provide insurance to the project
\nowner, he said.<\/p>\n
Project management would be required to tender offers to
\nchoose construction companies under the proposed bill.<\/p>\n
Rachmadi said the bill would be applied both to government and
\nprivate sector projects.<\/p>\n
He said he expected the bill to be passed by the House by the
\nend of April.<\/p>\n
\"This bill is high on the government's list (of priorities).\"<\/p>\n
Commission IV member Burhanuddin Napitupulu hailed the
\nproposed bill, saying it was long awaited by the construction
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
\"The bill, hopefully, will create a balance of power between
\nproject owners and construction companies.\"<\/p>\n
Burhanuddin said many construction companies had weak
\nbargaining positions because they employed many people and could
\nnot afford to lose projects.<\/p>\n
Many construction companies are currently in dire straits
\nbecause they had not received payments from project owners in
\nmonths or years, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The bill should penalize the project owners too, for delaying
\npayment to construction companies,\" he said, noting that
\nconstruction companies currently face penalties when they do not
\nfinish jobs on schedule. (das)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-submits-bill-on-construction-services-to-house-1447893297",
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