Jakarta gets approval to buy Chinese buses

JAKARTA (JP): The central government has endorsed the city administration's proposal to import some 4,000 completely-built- up (CBU) buses from China, Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday.

"President Abdurrahman Wahid gave his approval to the plan late last month. The office of the State Secretary has sent the letter of recommendation to us," Sutiyoso said after joining the Friday prayers at the City Hall.

The Jakarta administration has been in a dilemma over its plan to replace the aging city buses because the central government preferred to use locally built buses and components.

The Chinese-built buses, namely Dong Feng, comprise 54-seat large buses and 26-seat minibuses. The first type are being offered at Rp 250 million (US$26,315) and the later at Rp 160 million ($16,842) each.

"It is for the benefit of Jakartans, who need at least 8,000 new buses immediately. I hope the new buses can encourage residents to use public transportation instead of private vehicles, so that we can prevent increased traffic jams," Sutiyoso said.

Jakarta needs a total of 7,718 new buses, comprising 3,707 large buses and 4,011 minibuses, to replace the current fleets which have been serving passengers for more than 20 years.

The old buses belong to 14 private companies, which are obliged to improve their fleets. The city currently has a total of 5,441 medium buses and 4,981 minibuses providing transportation for Jakarta residents.

Last month, the City Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PT Texmaco Perkasa Engineering for the marketing of 2,000 Perkasa buses to bus operators here.

Perkasa buses, which have German Steier engines, have 80 percent local components. The vehicle is priced at Rp 245 million for 40-seater air-conditioned buses. The first fleet of 1,000 buses is scheduled to arrive this month.

However, the governor has yet to reveal the timetable on the arrival of the new buses, nor the approval on the lower import tax for the new import buses.

It was reported earlier that the import tax issue had become the main obstacle for the city in importing the Chinese-built buses, as the Ministry of Trade and Industry refused to lower the import taxes for the buses.

Chief of the City Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ) Buyung Atang said the ministry had earlier given a 40-percent import tax for CBU vehicles.

However, the ministry has agreed to lower the import tax from 40 percent to five or 10 percent for completely-knocked-down (CKD) vehicles to help boost local auto assemblers.

Buyung doubted that local auto assemblers here were qualified enough to handle the Chinese buses due to their limited experience and capability.

He added that two big assembling companies in Magelang, Central Java, namely PT Tugas Anda and PT Delima Jaya, could only assemble 30 vehicles per month, while the city needs 3,000 buses within the near future. (07)