Ambon, Dutch firms join to operate water plant

JAKARTA (JP): PT PDAM Ambon, a drinking water company owned by the Maluku provincial administration and NV Waterleiding Maatschappij Drenthe of the Netherlands, will establish a joint venture to improve the drinking water supply in the province.

Waterleiding's president K.J. Hoogsteen said last week that the joint venture would begin to operate early next year.

Hoogsteen told Antara the joint venture would operate to improve the Ambon Drinking Water Company's network, which he said had suffered a serious level of water leakage.

Director of the Ambon company Chris Pattinaja said the leakage in Ambon reached 34 percent due to the poor condition of the water pipelines in the town.

"Most of the pipelines were installed during the Dutch era and have been largely vandalized," said Chris.

PT PDAM Ambon now produces 211 liters per second and 150 liters per second during the rainy season.

Hoogsteen did not reveal the amount of investment allocated by the Dutch company for the project.

He said officials of the Ambon drinking company would receive training in the Netherlands, while the Dutch company would soon send its engineers to Ambon to start the project. (jsk)