Pelindo's boss denies graft charges<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President of state-owned port operator PT
\nPelindo II, Hendra Prayitno, denied on Monday allegations of
\ncorruption and collusion in the sale of Pelindo's container port
\noperator subsidiary, PT Jakarta International Container Terminal
\n(JICT), leveled against him by several parties.<\/p>\n
He said the bidding process and award of the 51 percent stake
\nin JICT worth US$215 million to Grosbeak Pte Ltd in March last
\nyear were conducted properly in accordance with regulations.<\/p>\n
\"That (the accusation) is not true. It is groundless. No KKN
\npractices (an acronym for corruption, collusion and cronyism)
\nwere involved in the privatization process,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said Grosbeak was selected because it had a greater port
\nnetwork around the globe compared to the other bidders and had
\nthe capability to increase JICT's capacities.<\/p>\n
Hendra said the decision to sell JICT's stakes to a foreign
\nstrategic partner was made solely by the government through the
\noffice of State Ministry of Investment and State Enterprises
\nDevelopment.<\/p>\n
He also challenged parties that accused him to prove his
\nwrongdoing by checking the documents on the privatization kept by
\nhis office and other related government offices.<\/p>\n
Hendra was speaking at a dialogue on the alleged corruption
\nand collusion involving Hendra and former State Minister of State
\nEnterprises Development Tanri Abeng in last year's sales of JICT
\nstakes held jointly by the Institute of Indonesian Reform
\nAdvocacy and JICT's labor union.<\/p>\n
The institute and JICT's labor union have accused Tanri and
\nHendra of engineering the process of JICT's privatization for
\ntheir personal interests.<\/p>\n
Institute chairman Eddy Sumarsono said Tanri and Herman had
\nallegedly collected money from Grosbeak in return for selling
\nJICT's stakes at a very cheap price.<\/p>\n
Eddy said JICT's stake could have been worth $350 million had
\nTanri sold it in a more transparent and corruption-free way
\nthrough the stock market.<\/p>\n
He claimed that only $190 million of the total $215 million
\npaid by Grosbeak went to the state's coffers.<\/p>\n
\"The remaining $25 million, was left in the terminal
\noperator's bank account, but its use was unclear,\" he said,
\nadding that some Rp 60 billion, for example, was used for
\nconsultation fees.<\/p>\n
Eddy said the group's findings on Tanri and Hendra's alleged
\ncorruption would be reported to the Attorney General and the
\nMinistry of Finance office in the near future.<\/p>\n
The government sold 51 percent of the JICT stake in March last
\nyear to Grosbeak Pte Ltd, which is a 100 percent owned subsidiary
\nof the world's largest independent container port operator
\nHutchinson Port Holdings, for $215 million in cash.<\/p>\n
Grosbeak outbid the other three bidders, the International
\nContainer Terminal Services Inc. of the Philippines, P&O Ports of
\nAustralia and Stevedoring Services of America International\/PT
\nSamudera Indonesia, in the final round of the bidding to win the
\n20-year concession period to operate two container terminals at
\nTanjung Priok Port, the country's largest and busiest seaport.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, Grosbeak is required to make a noncash
\ncontribution of container terminal operation software and
\ntechnical start-up support for JICT valued at approximately $28
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
During the operating period, JICT will invest approximately
\n$340 million for the optimization of existing capacity and the
\nconstruction and development of additional berths and container
\nyards.<\/p>\n
After the operating period expires, full control of JICT will
\nrevert to Pelindo II. (cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pelindos-boss-denies-graft-charges-1447893297",
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