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)