Deutsche Telekom eying telephone project in Java

Deutsche Telekom eying telephone project in Java

JAKARTA (JP): Deutsche Telekom (DT) of Germany, in cooperation
with Indonesian partners, is optimistic about winning a contract
to establish 500,000 telephone lines in Java.

"We are ready to install 500,000 telephone lines in West or
Central Java," said Gerd Tenzer, a DT executive.

Tenzer, who accompanied German Minister of Post and
Telecommunications Wolfgang Botsch at yesterday's press
conference, said that his company will provide technology for the
telephone lines.

Botsch ended his three-day visit in Indonesia yesterday,
during which time he witnessed the signing of a draft agreement
on the acquisition of a 25-percent stake, worth $586 million, of
PT Satelindo, a private firm operating satellites, cellular
mobile telephones and international calls.

"We will discuss financial affairs for the telephone project
soon," Tenzer said.

The government is currently examining bids from 12 consortia
for the establishment of two million telephone lines during the
current Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (Repelita VI) period,
which began in April 1994.

The government is likely to announce at least five winners
from the 12 consortia within six months.

During the Repelita VI period the government will install five
million telephone lines, of which two million lines will be
offered to private companies, while the other three million -- in
Jakarta and East Java -- will be assigned to the state-owned
domestic telecommunications firm PT Telkom.

The government chose the 12 consortia last September to take
part in the tenders for the installation of the two million
telephone lines. The consortia are required to include domestic
firms, cooperatives and overseas telecommunications firms.

However, executives of the Indonesian Association of
Telecommunications Firms warned recently that the government
should be very careful in choosing the winners because not all of
the consortia have conducted well-prepared surveys.(icn)