Govt revokes license for three-tier transit system
JAKARTA (JP): The government has revoked the license for a consortium involving a company owned by former president Soeharto's daughter to build a three-tier transit system in Jakarta due to indications of collusion, a minister said on Monday.
Public Works Minister Rachmadi Bambang Sumadhijo said at a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission IV dealing with public works and communications that he revoked the principle license of the project earlier this month.
The license was initially granted to the consortium of state- owned railway company Perumka, state-owned highway developer PT Jasa Marga and Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana's PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada.
Rachmadi said that the contract did not conform to the recently issued Presidential Decree no 7/1998 which stipulates that the government's infrastructure projects must be offered to private partners through a legal tender.
Citra Lamtoro obtained the contract through a direct appointment, he said.
Furthermore, a presidential decree issued last year by Siti's father, then president Soeharto, gave preferential treatment to the triple-tier project as well as the Waru-Tanjung Perak toll road project, which was to be developed by Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo.
Last year's decree stated that the two projects would continue despite the financial crisis, although other projects were halted, he said.
"This presidential decree indicates favoritism," he said, adding that the license for the Waru-Tanjung Perak project had also been revoked.
Rachmadi said that the government would offer a legal tender to private investors if it intended to continue the triple-tier project.
Construction on the project, which was going to combine 23.65 kilometers of toll roads, 22 kilometers of light rail tracks and existing roads, had been delayed several times this year.
Moves
The ministry's move is one of a number of drastic moves it has taken in a sweeping effort to cleanse toll road projects and other infrastructure projects under its authority suspected of being tainted with corruption and favoritism.
Rachmadi said that the ministry had also revoked other toll road contracts with the former first family.
The ministry has recently begun reviewing 21 out of 107 profit-sharing toll road contracts with private firms, and renegotiated deals secured through corruption, collusion and nepotism.
Five of the 21 contracts are currently being investigated by the Attorney General's Office for indications of graft.
These five are the Surabaya-Gresik and the Gresik-Tuban toll road projects in East Java which were to be developed by PT Margabumi Matra Raya, the Gempol-Pandaan toll road project also in East Java which was to be developed by PT Marga Bumi Adhika Raya, the Cawang- Cibitung road expansion program of PT Bangun Cipta Sarana and the expansion of the Kebun Jeruk toll road by PT Adhika Prakarsatama, both in Jakarta.
The Surabaya-Gresik toll road, which is already operational, is also currently being investigated by the Attorney General's Office, he said. (das)