Chinese loan to buy buses falls through
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has failed to clinch a soft loan from the Chinese government for the purchase of new buses from the country but will still buy Chinese buses under a new scheme, Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday.
"We attempted to secure the Chinese soft loan but to no avail and now there is a consortium.
"I hope everything will go smoothly with this new scheme," the governor told reporters at City Hall.
Sutiyoso said a consortium willing to provide bank guarantees had already been formed to procure new buses from China.
New buses are urgently needed to replace the city's aging and rapidly deteriorating fleet.
"The consortium allows the bus operators to pay only 20 percent of the cost of a bus. Bank guarantees will take care of the remaining amount," he said.
"I want a more representative public bus armada in the city. I hope the consortium will be able to fulfill this. We'll buy the buses from China," he added.
The governor, however, failed to name the consortium or the bank or banks participating in the scheme.
In May, the Chinese government offered a soft loan to the city administration via the State Ministry of Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises for the purchase of the buses.
It has also been reported that the city administration had prepared a bus replacement program worth more than Rp 1.5 trillion (US$166,666,000) using the soft loan.
No explanation
Sutiyoso did not say which party had canceled the soft loan, nor did he give a reason.
But the governor insisted that Jakarta would keep to its word and purchase buses from Beijing.
"We'll still buy buses from China because of their good quality and low price. As for the old buses, we'll sell them out of town," he said.
The Chinese buses will cost the administration Rp 250 million for a large one and Rp 160 million for a minibus. The buses are more environmentally friendly than Jakarta's current buses as they use liquefied gas instead of gasoline or diesel.
The governor said he would hold a meeting with the consortium, the head of the City Traffic and Land Transport Agency, Buyung Atang, and chairman of Jakarta chapter of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) Aip Syarifuddin about the matter soon.
Sutiyoso hoped the new buses could be designed like the vehicles used at airports to transport passengers to or from planes.
"There are seats only around the edges in the shape of a ring, which are designated for pregnant women and old people. Other passengers stand," he said.
"This way, we can carry more passengers and impose cheaper fares," added Sutiyoso.
Timor
Buyung told The Jakarta Post that his agency had received requests from several taxi companies in Jakarta to replace their vehicles with Timor sedans.
"I don't know yet the number of taxis to be replaced because the companies have yet to submit detailed plans," he said.
"The problem is that PT Timor Putra Nusantara (TPN) has never allowed its Timor sedans to be used as taxis," he said, before adding that this situation had changed lately.
Buyung pointed to several taxi companies that were using Timor sedans.
"Perhaps the change of mind (by TPN) is also due to the fact that it is under the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) for its unsettled debts," he said.
"As soon as TPN solves its problems with IBRA, my agency can immediately give licenses for old taxis to be replaced with Timor sedans," added Buyung. (nvn)