Govt urged to quickly help ailing regional water co's
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Some 100 of the 254 regional drinking water companies (PDAMs) existing in the country are ailing and the government should take quick remedial action to revitalize them, a legislator said here Saturday.
"The government should immediately act to restore the health of 200 ailing drinking water firms which can no longer provide people with fresh water adequately," House of Representatives (DPR) Commission V member Marwan Jakfar said.
Marwan made the statemnet after recently visiting West Kalimantan where he personally witnessed the performance of a local drinking water company which was providing the public with brackish instead of potable water.
People in West Kalimantan were compelled to meet their need for clean water with rain water from drainage systems which was collected in drums or tanks, he said.
Meanwhile, Agnes Widjanarko, the public works ministry`s director general for housing, planning and urban development, said the government was planning to improve the performance of ailing PDAMs by among other things debt rescheduling, optimizing production and capacity upgrading as well as regional cooperation and capital participation.
She said the government would help the PDAMs by rescheduling their debts totalling Rp5.4 trillion (US$540 million) in stages.
PDAMs whose customers were paying their subscriptions regularly would be offered for sale to investors and the conditions of ailing PDAMs would be monitored , she said.
Earlier, Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto had said some investors who had taken part in the Indonesia Infastcuture 2006 conference that ended last Firday had expressed interest in developing three PDAMs. (*)
"The government should immediately act to restore the health of 200 ailing drinking water firms which can no longer provide people with fresh water adequately," House of Representatives (DPR) Commission V member Marwan Jakfar said.
Marwan made the statemnet after recently visiting West Kalimantan where he personally witnessed the performance of a local drinking water company which was providing the public with brackish instead of potable water.
People in West Kalimantan were compelled to meet their need for clean water with rain water from drainage systems which was collected in drums or tanks, he said.
Meanwhile, Agnes Widjanarko, the public works ministry`s director general for housing, planning and urban development, said the government was planning to improve the performance of ailing PDAMs by among other things debt rescheduling, optimizing production and capacity upgrading as well as regional cooperation and capital participation.
She said the government would help the PDAMs by rescheduling their debts totalling Rp5.4 trillion (US$540 million) in stages.
PDAMs whose customers were paying their subscriptions regularly would be offered for sale to investors and the conditions of ailing PDAMs would be monitored , she said.
Earlier, Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto had said some investors who had taken part in the Indonesia Infastcuture 2006 conference that ended last Firday had expressed interest in developing three PDAMs. (*)