Garbage still a problem, investors uninterested

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Waste management in Jakarta is likely to remain a serious problem as investors are not really interested in the waste-treatment project and the city administration cannot afford to finance it.

"Waste-treatment programs are costly but are not moneymakers. Many investors reconsider committing themselves to such projects," assistant to the City Secretary for Development Affairs, IGKG Suena, said recently.

Nine companies had signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) with the administration in 2002 and 2003 but so far they had not acted on the MOUs.

"They claimed that they were broke and proposed that other companies finance the project. We don't want that to happen. Any new investors would affect the existing agreements," Suena said.

The nine companies had submitted proposals on different waste-treatment technologies from bale-press German technology to bio-fertilizer technology. However, to date, only PT Wira Gulfindo Sarana has constructed a waste-treatment facility in Bojong, Bogor regency, as an alternative. The facility has undergone a trial period despite strong opposition from locals, who fear that it might cause environmental damage and endanger their health.

According to Suena, the number of private companies bidding for the waste-treatment project was the result of the administration's policy -- with approval from the City Council -- to encourage wider public participation in waste management and minimize the city's spending.

"It would be simpler if the city changed the policy by procuring a waste-treatment facility regardless of the substantial funds which would be taken from the city budget. Too bad, the city has not yet done so," he said.

Suena estimated that the city must spend Rp 1 trillion (US$116.3 million) to set up a high-technology waste-treatment facility to manage the city's 6,000 tons of daily waste.

He claimed a bank from Spain had offered the administration last Friday a soft loan of US$200 million to build a waste-treatment facility.

"The figure is enough to finance the project. We can't take it, however, because the central government is the one who makes that decision."

Jakarta has suffered several waste crises, with the latest at the end of last year, when a contract with Bekasi municipality on the use of Bantar Gebang dump ended. Bekasi agreed that Jakarta could continue to use the dump but the municipality administration and the council continued to disagree on other issues.

Locals around Bantar Gebang have repeatedly demanded that Bekasi administration close down the dump due to the significant pollution it causes, which they say endangers their health.

Complaints of pollution were also voiced by residents of Cilincing, North Jakarta, earlier this year when the administration used open land there as a temporary dump.

Environmentalists have urged the administration to replace the existing landfill system with one that is environmentally friendly and uses high technology.