Govt to assign new firms to repair Java, Sumatra roads
Govt to assign new firms to repair Java, Sumatra roads
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government will appoint several new contractors, without a
tender procedure, to repair roads on Java's northern coast and
Sumatra's eastern coast until November, a Cabinet minister said
on Monday.
Minister for Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno
said that the appointment was necessary as the existing
contractors -- PT Yala Persada Internasional and PT Sinar Ciomas
Putra Utama -- had failed to complete the repair work.
"We will assign new companies that have obtained an
International Standard Organization (ISO) certificate to repair
the damage and improve the road quality.
"We will not carry out a tender as we have no time to do it,"
Soenarno told reporters prior to a hearing with the House of
Representatives (DPR) Commission IV on Infrastructure and
Transportation.
However, he didn't elaborate on whether or not the government
would take legal action against the existing companies which had
failed to complete the repairs.
The Java northern coast and Sumatra eastern coast roads are
two of the busiest routes in the country.
Transportation activities on the routes will sharply increase
ahead of the Muslim Idul Fitri celebrations -- which this year
will fall in early December.
The two highways in question have fallen into disrepair in
several areas, thus slowing down transportation activities on the
main arteries.
As of August 2002, for example, the 321-kilometer stretch
between Bekasi and Cirebon in West Java had 165 kilometers with
varying degrees of damage.
As of March, the roads on the eastern coast of Sumatra,
stretching 2,300 kilometers, had 408 kilometers with some damage
and 173 kilometers deemed heavily damaged.
Legislators blamed the contractors for not meeting the quality
standards which were promised in the original contracts during
the construction of the roads, in addition to collusion between
truck drivers -- with overweight loads -- and highway patrol
authorities who allowed them to be overweight for the road
damage.
However, they believed that the latter was the main cause of
the road damage.
Soenarno said earlier that the government was seeking an
additional Rp 2.3 trillion (US$260 million) for the road repairs.
Soenarno also said that the government was considering
replacing asphalt roads in certain areas with concrete roads,
which are considered to be more durable.
Indonesia already has in force Law No.13/1980 on road affairs
which provides clear regulations on the quality, thickness and
specifications of roads.
Soenarto was quoted by Kompas as saying over the weekend that
the government would take over the responsibility to repair the
damaged road from the existing firms, although the latter might
retaliate by taking legal action against the government.
For the long term, he said, the government planned to develop
a four-lane highway between Jakarta and Semarang in Central Java
to meet the increasing traffic demands.
The plan would be carried out in 2006 as the government did
not currently have enough money to finance the program, he added.