New South Wales to help Jakarta treat wastewater

JAKARTA (JP): The New South Wales administration of Australia has proposed a household wastewater treatment scheme for Jakarta to help solve one of the city's most serious environmental problems.

The proposal was presented yesterday by a group of government officials and businessmen from News South Wales at City Hall, which was attended by Governor Surjadi Soedirdja and several top city officials.

"The proposal, which is part of our sister-city agreement, will only cover the construction of large-scale facilities of the project," said Deputy Governor of Economic and Development Affairs Tb.M. Rais.

Minor infrastructure development, such as pipelines from the plant to homes, will be handled by related agencies of the city, he said.

According to Rais, the project recommended by the New South Wales delegation will take seven years to complete.

Jakarta and New South Wales signed a sister-city agreement in May 1994, which included assistance for Jakarta's urban development and infrastructure.

Under yesterday's proposal, city-owned household wastewater treatment company Pal Jaya will cooperate with the plan.

Rais said the proposal did not clarify the amount of investment for the project or technical details.

"All details will be discussed later," he said.

Pal Jaya's director, Maruli Tua S., said Governor Surjadi agreed with the proposal.

"He (the governor) suggests further discussion on details before we sign an agreement," he said.

The city's assistant secretary on economic and development affairs, Prawoto Danoemihardjo, said the proposed scheme to treat household wastewater in the capital would invite private investors.

"The municipality will not provide funds for the project, but private investors can get loans for it without a municipality loan guarantee," Prawoto said.

New South Wales, he said, would conduct a build-operate- transfer scheme for the project and send some consultants and experts to assist the construction of household wastewater treatment facilities.

"The experts and consultants will be paid too, but terms will be determined later after further discussion," Prawoto said.

Hazardous

Head of the city's environmental bureau, Aboejoewono Aboeprajitno, said after the presentation that household wastewater in Jakarta was hazardous to the environment.

"Household wastewater, especially gray water or water polluted with detergents, contains a high level of pollutants," he said.

Among dangerous substances in household wastewater are bacteria, chloride, sulfates and nitrate chemical compounds, said Aboejoewono.

Currently, the city could only process one percent or 221,000 of 1.8 million cubic meters of household wastewater per day.

The agency has two wastewater treatment centers and two pumping stations in Setiabudi, Central Jakarta.

It plans to set up two more centers at a cost of at least Rp 9 trillion (US$3.46 billion) in Tomang, West Jakarta, and Kebon Melati, Central Jakarta.

Jakarta currently relies on other city-owned bodies, such as the sanitation agency and public works agency, to deal with human waste and public bathrooms and toilets. (ste)