Consortium to build water plant

PASURUAN, East Java (JP): PT Mandala Citra Umbulan, a consortium comprising the Humpuss and Ciputra business groups, has started construction of a drinking water plant, the first private drinking water plant in East Java.

The consortium's chief commissioner, Hutomo Mandala Putra, said Tuesday that Mandala Citra would invest about US$250 million in the project, which would be ready for commercial production in 18 months.

Hutomo, President Soeharto's youngest son, said that about 25 percent of investment would come from the consortium's own funds and the remaining 75 percent from bank loans.

The consortium would develop the project under a 25-year build, operate and transfer (BOT) contract, said Hutomo after the project's ground-breaking ceremony.

The new water plant will be located in Umbulan and will take water from the Umbulan water spring, along the slope of Mount Bromo.

It will be able to produce 4,200 liters of water per second, 2,400 liters of which will be distributed to Surabaya, 1,350 liters to Sidoarjo regency, 250 liters to Pasuruan regency and 200 liters to Gresik regency.

The Umbulan water spring produces up to 5,300 liters a second, but the company would only process 13.3 percent of the total.

Mandala Citra's president Andy Setiawan said the consortium would pay Rp 500 million ($142,857) in royalties a year to PDAM, a water company owned by the local administration.

The consortium would build distribution pipes and send the water to PDAM, Andy said.

"PDAM and the consortium will determine the price of the water to the end user," he said.

The consortium would build 61 kilometers of pipelines with a diameter of 60 centimeters for the water intake facility, he said.

The water distribution facility would be able to dispense 25,000 cubic meters of water to PDAM and the Wonocolo reservoir in Surabaya, he said.

Ciputra Group's Harun Harjadi said the new water plant would be used to supply water to two of the property group's housing developments: Citra Raya in Surabaya and Citra Harmoni in Sidoarjo. (nur/das)