Crisis 'won't affect telephones'

Crisis 'won't affect telephones'

JAKARTA (JP): The currency crisis will not affect the
government's target to install 8 million telephone lines in the
current Sixth Five-Year Development Plan, which will end in
March, 1999.

Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave said
in a statement that the currency crisis, which has cut the value
of the rupiah by around 35 percent against the U.S. dollar in the
last thee months, would not affect the plan to install 6.7
million fixed-telephone lines and a network of 1.3 million mobile
telephones in the current development plan.

The government raised the target for new telephone lines by 60
percent, from five million to eight million, in December, last
year.

State-owned PT Telkom and its five contractors are in charge
of telephone-line installation. The private firms are responsible
for installing and operating at least 2.2 million fixed-telephone
lines, as well as operating existing lines in five different
regions under a 15-year joint-operation contract signed in
October 1995.

Last September, the government announced the postponement or
review of government and state-related projects worth Rp 105
trillion (approximately US$30 billion) as part of the drastic
measures initiated to cope with the currency upheaval.

Rupiah and other Southeast Asian currencies have been under
speculative attack due to the domino effect of the devaluation of
the Thai baht in early July.

As part of the retrenchment program, the government also
decided to postpone Rp 38.92 trillion worth of investment
projects sponsored by state and private companies and to review
other projects worth Rp 62.69 trillion. (icn)