Makassar:Kubotech, a Japanese water pipe manufacturing company, plans to invest in Makassar, said Makassar Mayor Ilham Arief Sirajuddin, following his visit to Japan to present the concept of maritime mitigation.
“In the near future, Kubotech will invest in Makassar. This is a potable water supplier with an advanced pipe technology,” he said in Makassar yesterday.
Ilham added that the plan will be discussed further, but the cooperation can be realized soon. Kubotech will provide pipe channels measuring 2.9 meter in diameter to the potable water utility’s (PDAM) water distribution network. “If the cooperation is realized, PDAM’s water leakages level will decrease,” he said.
So far, PDAM’s water leakage reaches 49 percent out of the total production capacity of 2.340 liter per second. “With Kubotech’s investment, the leakage rate is expected to be reduced by 20 percent, allowing PDAM to increase its revenue by an additional Rp 5 to 6 billion,” he said. PDAM’s current revenue is Rp11 billion per month.
The municipality will not disburse any funds for the cooperation, but the profit sharing will come from the difference in the investment made.
PDAM Makassar’s spokesperson, Jufri Sakka, said the cooperation plan with Kubotech had been studied for about a year. Kubotech has reportedly conducted studies and surveys concerning PDAM’s condition.
PDAM’s pipes are only 3 million meter long, not yet ideal to provide potable water services to the people. There are 149.000 active customers in Makassar, whose population numbers 1.4 million people. “In 2010, we plan to serve 5.545 new customers,” he said.
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