Government sticks to transportation tariffs

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday that the government will continue controlling transportation tariffs even though many private firms participate in the transportation industry.

"We should always remember that the transportation sector is an economic activity which directly affects the public. Our constitution rules that any field which is important for the public should be controlled by the government," Soeharto said in his speech when opening a workshop of the Ministry of Transportation yesterday.

He said that the government is inviting more private firms to participate in the development of the transportation sector which progresses rapidly with modern technology.

The President also said that the aim of transportation development in Indonesia is to facilitate the mobility of people, goods and services to accelerate economic growth and equality.

However, he acknowledged there are still numerous complaints over land, air and sea transportation services in the country.

At yesterday's opening ceremony, Soeharto presented awards to 28 cities for their good traffic arrangements in 1995.

Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto guaranteed yesterday that there will no rise in transportation tariffs until 1996.

"In spite of the absence of a tariff increase, I project that in 1996 the total profits of state-owned transportation firms will increase by 20 percent from the Rp 803 billion projected for this year," he said.

The Ministry of Transportation canceled last November a plan of the railway company Perumka to increase railway fares by an average of 20 percent for executive and business classes.

There are 17 companies supervised by the ministry, including air carrier PT Garuda Indonesia, Perumka, bus operators PPD and Perum Damri, the shipping line PT Pelni, the water crossing operator PT ASDP, four port management firms PT Pelabuhan Indonesia I, II, III and IV, two airport operators PT Angkasa Pura I and II, dredging company PT Rukindo and the overseas freighter Djakarta Lloyd. (icn)