City offers incentives to private parking operators

JAKARTA (JP): In a bid to attract private parking operators the city is planning a shared account for parking revenue to enable better control of the use of funds.

Separately it is also proposing that private collectors only need to pay the city 10 percent of their revenues from parking, which would change the city law stipulating that private firms must pay 30 percent to 35 percent of this revenue.

The proposed mechanism of a shared account is part of a new partnership program with private parties in collecting parking fees.

Deputy head of the City Parking Agency, Sukri Bey, said on Friday the new mechanism was aimed at "increasing professionalism in technology, investment and management."

The city has long been criticized for being ineffective in collecting parking fees, but Sukri said this would improve in the new partnership scheme because the private sector would be in charge of the management apart from providing investment.

The agency has blamed unofficial collectors for its problems while others have suspected corruption in the agency.

Sukri said the agency targeted receipts of Rp 16 billion by the end of the year but given the average monthly receipts of Rp 1.3 billion "we may only get Rp 11 billion."

He hoped the income would double because of the proposed new law requiring payment of only 10 percent to the city.

Sukri said the current law was responsible for the city losing a lawsuit against five companies in August.

They had their businesses sealed because they had refused to comply with the new parking fee set by the city, from Rp 500 to Rp 1,000, saying it was arbitrarily set.

The Jakarta State Administrative Court decided the city must change the city law on parking revenues.

Constraints in collecting parking fees, he said, include the fact that the agency only controls parking collection on 340 streets while some 170 streets were still dominated by "hoodlums" and "unscrupulous members" (oknum) of the agency.

Regarding the partnership plan, Sukri said that the proposed shared account between private operators and the agency would be better than the current practice of all parking revenue paid to the city coffer.

This practice makes it difficult for private firms in partnership with the city to scrutinize the account activity, he said. "If necessary we can set up an independent body to watch over the account," he said.

Meanwhile five out of 19 private companies have passed the prequalification term for the first phase of the partnership program. The first phase screens the historical performance and financial management of companies.

After the city council decides on the agency's proposed design, the five winners must then deliver their proposals. Finally two companies will be selected and a consortium will be formed with the parking agency.

The five companies through the first phase are PT Sumber Batu, PT Adiwira Sembada, PT Sibhisa Jaya Sakti, PT Rodial Indonesia and PT Mega Nusantara Masagena. One requisite of the partnership program is that the contenders may not be from one group.

"We are still checking" whether the contenders meet requisites, Sukri said, adding that records of company ownership were not disclosed by the agency in the past.

"Now we want to be transparent," he said.

Sukri said the partnership should start in December and would be effective for five years. Agency records show there are 323 private parking operators in the city. (07)