Contractors assist in drafting bill

Contractors assist in drafting bill

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Contractors Association is
assisting the Ministry of Public Works in preparing a draft bill
on construction services.

Newly-elected chairman of the association Fatchur Rochman said
on Tuesday that the draft bill, now under the scrutiny of the
ministry, will cover all aspects of the construction industry,
including the operation of foreign consultants and contractors in
Indonesia.

Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services, Indonesia is
committed to opening up five of its service sectors, including
construction.

The construction industry has also been identified as one of
the service sectors to be liberalized within the framework of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"We expect that the draft will be able to be delivered to the
House of Representatives for deliberation as soon as possible,"
Fatchur said.

The bill will cover the certification of the expertise of
contractors and their workers, he said.

The government, particularly the Ministry of Manpower and the
Ministry of Public Works, should pay attention to the quality of
construction workers, Fatchur said, because Indonesia will have
to be prepared for competition with foreign workers when the
industry is liberalized.

Failure to improve the quality of Indonesian construction
workers through training could mean the domination of the
construction job market by foreigners in the era of free trade in
services, said Fachtur, who was elected association chairman for
the second time last week.

Fatchur is assisted in guiding the association by deputy
chairmen Soeryanto Mangundiwiryo and Frans S. Sunito and
secretary-general Darma Tyanto Saptodewo.(31)