Thames Water pledges to stay despite woes<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): British firm Thames Water International declared
\nyesterday its determination to continue its 25-year cooperation
\ncontract with city-owned water company PDAM Jaya despite the
\ncurrent political and economic turmoil.<\/p>\n
An executive of the firm, John Hurcom, said the company
\nremained here because it believed the country's economic
\ncondition would soon recover.<\/p>\n
An economic stance company would hold back at a time of such
\neconomic turmoil, but we are committed here and are determined to
\nsee it through, he told a news conference.<\/p>\n
\"We understand that the economy goes up and down. We knew that
\nwithin the 25 years of cooperation there would be political
\nchanges, but we generally believe that Indonesia is a good part
\nof the world to invest in, still,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hurcom said a new name and logo for his firm was being
\ndiscussed to replace the current PT Kekar Thames Airindo (Kati),
\na joint venture with PT Kekar Pola Airindo, a local company owned
\nby former president Soeharto's eldest son Sigit Hardjojudanto.<\/p>\n
Sigit's company withdrew after his father's downfall on May 21
\nand sold its 20 percent stake worth about US$410,000 to its
\nBritish counterpart.<\/p>\n
Hurcom said his local partner withdrew because \"they felt that
\ntheir existence was having a negative effect on the project and
\nthat we would not be successful with that partnership in place.\"<\/p>\n
Thames chose Sigit's Kekar Pola because it had the same
\ninterest in water development works and because it understood the
\ncountry's politics, Hurcom said.<\/p>\n
\"Whenever we go to any new country, we always look for a local
\npartner which has an interest in water and understands how the
\ncountry works because we did not understand Indonesia when we
\narrived here,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He dismissed the allegation that his firm got the contract
\nwith PDAM Jaya merely because of Sigit's relationship to the then
\npresident.<\/p>\n
\"Well, I don't know if that's a relevant question to ask. As I
\nunderstand it, the president's family and friends have joined a
\nlarge number of companies in Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I guess if you say that to us, you could say that to almost
\nany other company here. So my question is, why you are saying it
\nto us? There are many other targets,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hurcom said the most important thing was to make sure that his
\ncompany would be the one with full control over the project
\nregardless of which company it dealt with.<\/p>\n
He said full control in operation, finance and management was
\nimportant to enable his company to run the project the way it
\nthought it should be run.<\/p>\n
\"We didn't rely on the management capabilities of Kekar Pola
\nor any of those companies at all because we knew that we're going
\nto do it by ourselves. That was always our plan,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Hurcom argued that his company had never in any way breached
\nthe terms of the contract made with PDAM Jaya under its previous
\ncooperation with Kekar Pola.<\/p>\n
\"Our investment is entirely in accordance with the contract.
\nWe're not failing to meet the terms of the contract. If we had,
\nPDAM Jaya would have been able to come to us and say: Look you've
\nnot invested the way you should do. But they had never said so to
\nus,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the investment program set for 1998 amounted to Rp
\n143.4 billion, consisting of, among others, Rp 11.9 billion for
\nwater pipe restoration, Rp 84.8 billion for network extension and
\nRp 19.4 billion for water leakage reduction.<\/p>\n
The invested money was not given to PDAM Jaya but was used to
\nfund the operational activities under Thames' control, he said.<\/p>\n
Thames does not receive a share of the water rates collected
\nfrom customers, nor does it have any say in setting the rates, he
\nsaid. Thames' profit is derived from the water charge set in the
\ncontract and paid by the administration, he added.<\/p>\n
He refused to comment on criticism from city councilors, PDAM
\nJaya and city officials about his firm and French company
\nLyonnaise des Eaux, which was also involved in the cooperation.<\/p>\n
\"What they say to the media is their business. But I can tell
\nyou that they have not come to us about our investment program.
\nNever directly criticized or complained. Never anything,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Hurcom said Thames was now discussing the possibility of city
\nadministration buying 5 percent of his company's stake.<\/p>\n
\"We're in a discussion with the administration at the moment.
\nSo far we have agreed in principle that the administration can
\nacquire a number of the shares.<\/p>\n
\"What we have in mind is 5 percent as required by Indonesian
\nlaw. The terms and conditions on which they acquire the shares
\nhave yet to be discussed in detail,\" he said. (cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thames-water-pledges-to-stay-despite-woes-1447893297",
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