Mining agency, water companies sign pact

JAKARTA: The city mining agency, city-owned tap water company PAM Jaya and its two foreign operators signed a joint agreement on Thursday on underground water usage and the tap water produced by PAM Jaya's foreign operators.

Currently, the production and distribution of tap water from the eastern half of the Ciliwung River is carried out by British Thames PAM Jaya.

While PAM Lyonnaise Jaya of France is responsible for the western half of the river.

"The agreement is aimed at increasing the control of underground water usage in the city, which is important for reducing land subsidence in the city," the head of the mining agency, Muzahiem Mokhtar, said in a statement on Friday.

"Such control can only be obtained by optimizing the current tap water network," he said.

According to the agreement, the agency will provide registered underground water, while the tap water companies will make available their subscriber databases for verification. --JP