Govt to evaluate bid on Sepinggan airport project
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto yesterday said he will evaluate the tender of the expansion project of the Sepinggan airport in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.
"The evaluation does not imply that those awarded the bid will see it revoked," Haryanto told reporters after attending a ministerial meeting at the Ministry of Finance yesterday.
A local report disclosed over the weekend that Coordinating Minister for Economy and Finance Saleh Afiff has sent a note to Haryanto to reopen the tender for the multi-million-dollar project, following wide protest from the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Association of Builders.
A source at the association said that the tender was offered in early December last year, in which 14 firms, comprising of 12 private companies, one state-run contractor and one Japan-based venture, participated.
In April this year, the government awarded two companies the contract, PT Hazama, which is affiliated to a Japanese firm, and PT Adhi Karya, a state company under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works.
The disqualified companies were PT Chandra Dirgantara, PT Rekayasa Industri, PT Indoteam Merimba, PT Bimantara Citra, PT Yala Perkasa, PT Jaya Konstruksi, PT Murinda Iron Steel, PT Idee Murni Pratama, PT Kali Raya Sari, PT Hutama Karya, PT Tranaco and PT Bukaka Teknik Utama.
Loss
According to association, the government will suffer a total loss of about Rp 17 billion (US$7.7 million) as the PT Hazama and PT Adhi Karya proposed Rp 62 billion and Rp 71 billion respectively, while the 12 disqualified firms presented proposals of between Rp 45 billion and Rp 50 billion.
The association also said that with the completion of the project, the second phase expansion will make Sepinggan an international airport, which will be funded by the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) of Japan and therefore the bid should be international.
The association has also accused the government of hiring several OECF consultants in the selection.
Haryanto said earlier that the government is inviting both local and foreign firms to build and expand airports in the country under build, operate and transfer contracts.
The projects, which will consist of the construction of two new airports and the expansion of four existing ones, will cost around $1.46 billion, while the expansion of the Sepinggan airport in Balikpapan will be funded with a $150-million aid from OECF.
He said that a special team comprising of high ranking officials from the offices of the Coordinating Minister for Economy and Finance and the Coordinating Minister for Trade and Industry, the Investment Coordinating Board, the Ministry of Finance and the National Land Agency, has been established to oversee the planned airport projects.(icn)