Oil firm donates schools to Pulau Seribu residents
Oil firm donates schools to Pulau Seribu residents
KELAPA ISLAND, Pulau Seribu (JP): Argentinean-owned oil firm
YPF-Maxus inaugurated on Tuesday its donation of two schools, a
jetty and an access road to residents of Kelapa in the Jakarta
Bay.
"The development (of the projects) is part of Maxus' community
development program to maintain a good and harmonious
relationship with people and communities in and around its
operational area," the firm's general manager, C.W. Murray Jr.,
said in a ceremony held near the schools.
The projects consist of the renovation Al Falah Islamic
Elementary School, which was damaged by a storm last year, and
the construction of a new two-story school for Al Falah students,
the jetty and access road.
Bramasto from contractor PT Sakaguru said the construction,
which was from August 1999 until last month, cost Rp 1.13
billion.
He said 50 local residents, except for the engineers, were in
the workforce. Locals also provided the construction materials
for the projects.
YPF-Maxus, an exploration partner of state oil and gas company
Pertamina, has a site at Pabelokan island in the Pulau Seribu
chain, also known as the Thousand Islands.
The proposal to renovate the building came from the Kelapa
Island's Community Resilience Institution (LKMD) in June 1999.
The head of LKMD, A. Solihin, thanked the company for its
contribution to the local community.
"I hope such development projects will continue," he said.
A local vendor wondered why the public facilities were built
and financed by private parties instead of the government.
"Why was it done by the foreigners?" she said.
The ceremony was also attended by several Pertamina executives
and North Jakarta Mayor Soebagio and his entourage.
Kelapa, located about 90 kilometers to the north of Jakarta,
has a population of about 5,000.
The residents' distinctive accent denotes their Bugis ethnic
origin in South Sulawesi. With poor educational backgrounds, most
of them work as fishermen but a few are employed at Maxus.
Soebagio, whose jurisdiction also includes Pulau Seribu, said
he identified ways to improve the local community's income
through the three sectors of fishing, seaweed and tourism.
"This island has potential for the cultivation of fish and
seaweed. It should be easy because it can be distributed to
Jakarta. The other sector is tourism," he said.
Based on Law No. 25/1999 on fiscal balance between the central
government and regional authorities, the city government is
allowed to collect 15 percent of oil revenue earned by local
companies, with the central government collecting the remainder.
The law is pending government regulations to define pertinent
details.
Governor Sutiyoso said earlier that his office would start
securing oil revenue from offshore oil resources beginning from
Aug. 31, 2001, as stipulated in the law.
Based on the crude oil price of $20 per barrel, the city
administration currently receives about US$1.50 from each barrel
of crude oil from city offshore oil platforms.
With a projection that oil companies operating in the area
under Jakarta's jurisdiction could produce 18,000 barrels of
crude oil per day, the city administration would earn a total of
$9.72 million a year.(09)