City 'yet to pay' for award-winning lighting project
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The laser light project at the National Monument park may have won the hearts of judges of the 22nd International Association of Lighting Designers, but it has not yet impressed the city administration enough to pay its obligations.
PT Avabanindo Perkasa told a press conference on Tuesday that the city administration has not paid for the project, almost a year after its completion.
"We felt we were half-trapped in this slow-paced project, since we never imagined that negotiations on the value of the project would be so tough, while we cannot simply withdraw from it," company president director Agoosh Yoosran told a briefing at the Radio One studio in South Jakarta on Tuesday.
Agoosh declined to reveal the value of the project, but a city official said last year that the lighting was worth around Rp 15 billion (US$1.56 million).
Surprisingly, however, the project was done without any official document being signed, making it almost impossible for the firm to bill the city administration or the Jakarta administration.
Agoosh said the administration had appointed an independent appraisal company PT Sucofindo Appraisal Utama to assess the value of the project.
According to Agoosh, the administration had offered Avabanindo 17 outdoor advertising sites across the capital, but the company had refused the offer.
"Instead of the 17 sites, our company has requested the renewal of the contract for the operation of large videotronic screen at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, which will expire next month. However, the administration has yet to approve the request," he said, without mentioning the 17 locations.
Sayogo Hendrosubroto of the City Council's Commission D on development affairs said the delayed payment of the project was due to a closed deal between the city administration and company.
"We could not help solve the problem since the administration and company were not transparent with the project," Sayogo told The Jakarta Post.
Sayogo recalled that the project raised objections from the council last year amid fears that such a closed deal, like the lighting project, might be marred by corruption and collusion.
"There should be no more deals (made by the administration) to barter locations for outdoor advertising with other projects ... All tax revenues from billboards must go to city's coffers first," he said.
The launch of the 300 kWh laser lights, which won an Award of Merit at the annual 22nd International Association of Lighting Design in New York last April 13, was part of the Jakarta anniversary celebrations on June 22 last year.
Visitors can see the lighting on weekends from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., while on long holidays, the public can see pictures on the lower part of the Monas tower with several different themes.
Avabanindo is a subsidiary of PT Abdi Bangsa, which owns daily newspaper Republika, Harian Indonesia, Golf Digest Indonesia, Radio One and JakTV station.
The company said that it plans to extend the operation to midnight every weekend.
This year, the administration plans another beautification project with a "dancing and singing water fountain" to be installed in the park to mark the city's 478th anniversary celebration.
The construction of the fountain would be fully financed by advertising agency PT Media Indra Buana (MIB) as part of a barter scheme, with the firm gaining the right to billboard advertising spots.
Previously, PT MIB gained the right to use a number of billboard spots following the beautification of the fountain at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in 2002. That project cost Rp 14 billion.