Deal on water agreement expected next month
Deal on water agreement expected next month
JAKARTA (JP): City water company PDAM Jaya and its two foreign
partners -- PT Pam Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and PT Thames Pam Jaya
(TPJ) -- have resolved their differences and are expected to sign
a final agreement on the city's water management next month, an
executive said on Thursday.
"We have agreed on some important issues on the water
management deal, including on water charges. We hope we can reach
an agreement in one month," said Palyja commissioner Bernard
Lafrogne.
Lafrogne said Palyja and TPJ had agreed to lower their water
charges to rates close to the water tariff which is paid by the
public.
Water tariffs per cubic meter for those living in affluent
areas are currently set at up to Rp 1,845, commercial users pay
between Rp 1,350 and Rp 3,100, and industrial users are charged
between Rp 1,175 and Rp 5,050, depending on consumption.
The tariff for small-scale users living in cheap accommodation
is set at Rp 390, while social service buildings, including
orphanages, places of worship and hospitals, must pay between Rp
390 and Rp 930.
Lafrogne said that because of the varying charges, Palyja and
TPJ, subsidiaries of respectively French Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux
and British Thames Water International, would only be able to
reach a break-event point after 10 years, starting from the
signing of the agreement last year.
"But our shareholders would understand. It's a long term
investment," he said.
The two foreign water firms earlier estimated that they could
distribute dividends seven years after the signing of the
agreement.
Lafrogne said that once the renegotiation agreement was
reached he did not expect PDAM Jaya workers to continue with
their protests.
According to Lafrogne, his firm invested Rp 135 billion
(US$18.4 million) last year for infrastructure projects,
including the installation of pipelines and maintenance projects.
He said Palyja had invested this year an estimated Rp 350
billion and would invest another Rp 200 billion in 2000 for water
projects.
Palyja's president Pierre Alla inaugurated on Thursday the
completion of the Rempoa-Kebon Jeruk pipeline project worth Rp 80
billion.
"The 12-kilometer pipeline will serve 1.3 million people in
the western part of Jakarta," Alla said in a ceremony in Kebon
Jeruk, West Jakarta.
He said the pipeline project, which started in July last year,
involved eight local contractors and suppliers.
The firm is now developing a distribution and reservoir center
in Kebon Jeruk which will be completed in November, Palyja's
construction manager Mark Hunting said.
Mark said the new distribution and reservoir center would
improve the city's water distribution capacity. (jun)