Govt decision to revoke decrees on projects hailed

Govt decision to revoke decrees on projects hailed

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso hailed on Thursday the central
government's decision to revoke three presidential decrees signed
by former president Soeharto on the reclamation of North Jakarta
Bay and Kapuk Naga coast and the development of Jonggol township.

"There's nothing bad. For us, it's (the decision) good because
the decision will also mean that the authorization (on the North
Jakarta Bay project) is now in the hands of the governor,"
Sutiyoso told reporters.

Under Soeharto's decree, the three projects were under the
central government's auspices.

On Wednesday, President B.J. Habibie revoked the decrees on
the three massive projects and entrusted the development of North
Jakarta Bay to the Jakarta administration and the Kapuk Naga and
Jonggol projects to the West Java administration.

When Soeharto signed Presidential Decree No 52/1995 on the
reclamation of North Jakarta Bay, the capital was led by Surjadi
Soedirdja. At the time, Sutiyoso was the Jakarta Military
Command's chief of staff.

The revocation of the North Jakarta Bay decree -- aimed to
transform the northern coastal area into a future waterfront city
-- does not mean that the financially troubled city
administration is willing to immediately continue the megaproject
which has been halted by its developers due to the prolonged
monetary crisis.

According to Sutiyoso, the reclamation of 2,700 hectares of
inundated land and revitalizing 13,709 hectares of land along the
north coast of the capital would require a large amount of money.

"We need to take a deep breath first as it's a very costly and
time-consuming project," the governor said.

Sutiyoso, in the first year of his five-year governorship,
promised to restart the project again should the country's
economy start to show signs of recovery.

He vowed not to change the project's existing plans and to
give greater chances to companies that had been involved in the
work to take part in the bidding for the megaproject's contracts.

"We'll carry out a tender again. I promise that the project
will be awarded through an open bid," Sutiyoso said.

Under Surjadi's tenure, the city administration signed seven
Memorandums of Understanding regarding the reclamation project
between 1995 and 1997.

Companies that took part in the project under Soeharto's
decree were PT Manggala Krida Yudha, a private firm partly owned
by Soeharto's youngest daughter Siti Hutami Endang Adiningsih, PT
Kapuk Naga Indah, a subsidiary of the widely diversified Salim
Group controlled by one of Soeharto's closest cronies, PT
Pembangunan Jaya Ancol, a joint venture between the city
administration and property tycoon Ciputra, and PT Jaladri
Kartika Eka Paksi, a company associated with the Armed Forces.

Sutiyoso hoped that the revocation of Soeharto's decrees would
speed up the city administration's efforts to guarantee greater
autonomy within its jurisdiction.

"So far, one of the major problems that has caused the
stagnation of the North Jakarta Bay project was the different
interests between the administration and the central government,"
he said.

A councilor reminded the city administration on Thursday that
it should re-examine the project's environmental impact analysis
report because the previous one was undertaken by the
participating companies themselves.

"The study should be done again and this time by the city
agency in order to obtain a more objective result," the head of
the city council's Commission D for development affairs Ali
Wongso Sinaga said.

"Such an objective analysis is very important to ensure the
reclamation project won't destroy the surrounding areas as
happened in the Thousand Islands," he said. (ind)