Council calls for open tenders in Monas park project

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The City Council urged the administration to immediately disclose the outdoor advertising spots to be bartered with the water fountain project at the National Monument (Monas) park and hold an open bidding for the spots.

"The spots must be determined before the project starts. More companies should have been invited for an open tender," Muhayar, deputy chairman of City Council Commission D overseeing Development Affairs, said on Wednesday.

He referred to Article 4 of Bylaw No. 7/2004 on advertising in Jakarta, which stipulates that private companies can only use designated spots after winning a bid.

So far, only PT Media Indra Buana (MIB) has been granted billboard spots at Monas. The company bartered the billboard spots with Rp the 14 billion water fountain renovation project at the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle, Central Jakarta, in 2002, paying for the project in full.

There are at least 174 locations citywide specially designed for outdoor advertising that are regulated by the administration.

Muhayar stressed that MIB could only use the designated spots. "The company is not allowed to choose spots outside the designated ones. If it does, it will disturb the existing spatial arrangements in the city."

Assistant to City Secretary for Development Affairs, Hari Sandjojo, promised that the bartered locations would be the existing locations designed for outdoor advertising. MIB will still be subject to taxes over the spots, he added.

Councillor Daniel Abdullah Sani, chairman of Commission C on financial affairs, said the council had not received an official request from the administration over the latter's plan to barter the billboard spots with the project.

"Private parties are encouraged to participate in developing the city but the administration must clearly state in detail the value of the bartered locations in the proposed city budget," he said.

City Parks Agency head Sarwo Handhayani said her agency was calculating the project value. "The project includes the beautification of the 3.2-hectare park in the western part of Monas where the fountain is situated."

President Director of MIB, Nyoman Anda, estimated that the project would be more expensive than the Rp 14 billion renovation of the HI traffic circle water fountain.

"We will adopt the design of a water fountain project in Singapore," he said.

Governor Sutiyoso wants the water fountain, which would become another attraction in the park, to be operational before the city's 478th anniversary, which falls on June 22.

Currently, Monas has several attractions, including a deer park and the Rp 15 billion new laser light system, that lights up the monument.