Government offers to sell PPD

JAKARTA: In a bid to save state-run city bus company Perusahaan Pengangkutan Djakarta (PPD), the government is offering to sell the company to either a private company, a foreign investor or the Jakarta administration.

The Ministry of Transportation's director general for Land Transportation, Iskandar Abubakar, said on Friday that PPD needed to pay off debts amounting to Rp 70 billion (US$7.8 million).

He added that as of 2001, the company had assets valued at up to Rp 500 billion.

Iskandar was commenting on Governor Sutiyoso's earlier statement about taking over the company if it was in a stable financial condition.

"Liquidating the company is the last option because we cannot afford to lay off 5,400 employees, which would mean a hefty amount in compensation," Iskandar was quoted by Antara as saying.

PPD spends an average of Rp 11.9 billion per month on operational costs. However, its income during the last three months in 2002 was no more than Rp 8.5 billion per month. Last December, the company only booked a Rp 6.97 billion profit. --JP