Korea Telecom interested in RI projects
Korea Telecom interested in RI projects
SEOUL (JP): Korea Telecom is preparing telecommunications
projects in Indonesia under its plan to expand operations in
other countries, particularly those in Asia and Latin America,
executives of South Korea's state-owned company said.
Korea Telecom's manager of overseas cooperation, Jong-Sun
Yoon, and deputy director, So Hoo-Cheol, told Indonesian
reporters visiting the company's headquarters here over the
weekend that the company will likely develop projects jointly
with an Indonesian partner under a build-operate-and-transfer
scheme within Indonesia's telecommunications infrastructure.
The executives said Korea Telecom will soon look for
Indonesian projects it considers appropriate and find local
partners.
Korea Telecom and Indonesia's international telecommunications
company, PT Indosat, signed a memorandum of understanding earlier
this year for cooperation in telecommunication projects in
Indonesia.
A senior expert from Indosat, D. Habimono Koesoebjono, was
here last week to hold several meetings with Korea Telecom's
executives and experts, but he refused to give any comments on
planned cooperation between the two companies.
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, who
was here to attend the 43rd conference of the Pacific Asia Travel
Association, told The Jakarta Post that the Indonesian government
will welcome Korea Telecom's participation in the country's
telecommunications development.
"Telecommunications development in Korea is very fast. I think
it will be good if Korea Telecom is involved in Indonesian
telecommunications projects," he said after meeting with the
company's president Cho Paek-Jae.
Joop said that since the mid-1970s, the company has
successfully installed 21 million telephone lines throughout
South Korea, with a population of about 44 million.
The Indonesian government aims at installing five million
telephone lines during the sixth Five-Year Development Plan
(Repelita VI period, which began early this month). The state-
owned domestic telecommunications company, PT Telekomunikasi
Indonesia (Telkom), installed 2.2 million lines during Repelita
V.
Telkom will construct three million telephone lines during
Repelita VI and the other two million will be offered to private
companies. (icn)