Council calls for open tenders in Monas park project

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.