Telecoms winners announced<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The ministry of tourism, post and
\ntelecommunications announced yesterday the winners of four joint
\noperation contracts for telecommunications facilities in
\nKalimantan, Central Java, Sumatra and West Java.<\/p>\n
Secretary-General of the ministry, Jonathan Parapak, told a
\npress conference that the four 15-year contracts would see the
\ninstallation of 1.6 million new telephone lines before the end of
\nMarch, 1999.<\/p>\n
Parapak said a consortium of Astra International and France
\nTelecom, called Pramindo Ikat, won the contract for installing
\nand operating 460,000 lines in Sumatra.<\/p>\n
The contract for the West Java region, which will see the
\ninstallation of 500,000 lines, was won by the Tiga-A consortium,
\nwhich includes U.S. West Inc.<\/p>\n
Informed sources said the other members of the Tiga-A
\nconsortium were the Rajawali Group and Tomen Corp. of Japan.<\/p>\n
The Mitra Global Telekomunikasi Indonesia consortium,
\nconsisting of PT Indosat and its partners Nippon Telegraph &
\nTelephone (NTT) Corp. of Japan and Telstra Corp. of Australia,
\nwill install and operate 440,000 lines in the Central Java
\nregion.<\/p>\n
For the Kalimantan region (237,000 lines), the contract was
\nwon by Daya Mitra Malindo consortium which consists of Telekom
\nMalaysia Bhd. and ALatieF Corp. of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"However, the bidding process for the contract for the eastern
\nIndonesian islands is still underway because only one bid has so
\nfar been submitted for that region,\" Parapak added.<\/p>\n
A consortium of Bukaka Telekomindo and Singapore Telecom
\nInternational was the only bidder for the eastern Indonesian
\nregion, in which 403,000 lines are to be installed.<\/p>\n
The five projects are part of the government's program to
\ninstall five million telephone lines within the current Sixth
\nFive-Year Development Program (Repelita VI) which will end in
\nMarch, 1999.<\/p>\n
Two million of the total have been set aside for private
\ncompanies under joint operation contracts, while the other three
\nmillion, to be installed in greater Jakarta and East Java, will
\nbe managed by the state-owned domestic telecommunications company
\nPT Telkom.<\/p>\n
Parapak said that total investment for the projects in the
\nfive regions would range between US$2 billion and $3 billion.<\/p>\n
Based on the contracts (including the one for the eastern
\nregion), Telkom will receive an estimated total revenue of Rp
\n13.98 trillion (US$6.2 billion) from initial investor payments,
\nguaranteed annual minimum revenues and a percentage of the
\ndistributable operation revenues throughout the operational
\nperiod of 15 years.<\/p>\n
12 bidders<\/p>\n
The four winners were selected from 12 bidders who were
\nthemselves short-listed from 30 consortia who took part in the
\npre-qualification assessment last November.<\/p>\n
The two-page official press release about the winning bidders
\nwas very brief. The statement did not, for example, give the
\nnames of the local members of the winning consortia.<\/p>\n
The statement said that the inter-ministerial team in charge
\nof evaluating the bids had been assisted by national and
\ninternational consultants, including PT Pan System, Hadiputranto,
\nHadinoto & Partners (Baker McKenzie), Lazard Freres, McCarthy
\nTetrault and Dimhart & Associates.<\/p>\n
Three weeks ago, when the four winning bidders had been
\nselected, rumors were rampant that the government was trying to
\njawbone the winners into joining up with the losing bidders.<\/p>\n
The government flatly denied the rumors but the delay in the
\nannouncement of the winning bidders until yesterday seemed to
\nlend some credence to the speculation.<\/p>\n
According to rumors, the government later dropped what foreign
\ntelecommunications executives here saw as the controversial
\nrequest for fear that the proposed method of negotiating the
\ncontracts might affect the planned share issue by Telkom in New
\nYork and London later this year.<\/p>\n
According to the Request for Proposals issued by Telkom last
\nNovember to interested bidders, the purpose of the joint
\noperation contract for each region will be to perform all
\nactivities required to expand, upgrade and operate
\ntelecommunications systems in a world-class manner.<\/p>\n
Each of the contracts covers the planning, design and
\nconstruction of new telephone lines and the upgrading of existing
\ninstallations, as well as the operation of the existing lines and
\ntheir integration with the new ones.<\/p>\n
The contractors are entitled to a share of distributable
\nrevenue, which is defined by Telkom as the net revenues from
\noperations under the contract after deducting the minimum Telkom
\nrevenues and the operating expenses of the telecommunications
\nsystems covered by the contracts. (pwn\/vin)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/telecoms-winners-announced-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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