Omnico quits monorail consortium, Sutiyoso says
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In another blow to the country's hopes of attracting foreign investment to the infrastructure sector, Governor Sutiyoso has announced the withdrawal of Omnico Singapore Pte. Ltd. from PT Jakarta Monorail (JM), the consortium selected to construct and operate the city's monorail project.
"Omnico is no longer in the consortium. PT Jakarta Monorail has a new partner," Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall after a meeting with JM executives on Thursday.
PT Jakarta Monorail is owned by PT Indonesia Transit Central (55 percent) and Omnico Singapore Pte. Ltd. (45 percent).
Sutiyoso did not say why Omnico had quit the consortium nor give any details of the new partner. He did hint, however, that the new partner was a foreign company.
"They (JM executives) have just informed us at today's meeting that they will sign a deal with investors by the end of this month," Sutiyoso said.
He also said that some local investors had expressed interest in taking part in the project.
"They (the executives of PT Jakarta Monorail) have promised that they will finalize the financial stuff by the end of this month and then they will proceed to fast-track the development of the project," Sutiyoso said.
PT JM president director Ruslan Diwiryo and director Sukmawaty Syukur, who were present during the meeting, declined to comment on Sutiyoso's statement.
But through her cellular phone, Sukmawaty said pm Thursday evening that JM was still in the process of increasing the company's capital.
In trying to increase the company's capital, she said, ITC has the right to dilute Omnico's shares if it fails to add shares, and replace it with another company.
"There are many other investors who are interested in the monorail project," she added.
Omnico's executive director Leon K.L. denied on Thursday that his company had quit the consortium, but refused to go into details.
"No, we have not quit the consortium. Who said so? But I cannot explain today because I'm at a meeting ... I will answer your questions tomorrow (on Friday)," Leon told The Jakarta Post by cellular phone on Thursday.
The appointment of the Indonesian Monorail Industry Consortium (ICMI), which is partly owned by Vice President Jusuf Kalla's Bukaka Group, to supply the rolling stock has sparked rifts between PT Indonesia Transit Central (ITC) and Omnico.
Omnico has rejected ITC's decision to use ICMI technology and proposed rolling stocks produced by South Korea's Rotem instead.
"Price is one thing, but safety cannot be compromised! Hundreds of thousands of people will be carried by the monorail everyday," Leon told the Post in the recent interview.
He also said that Omnico would prefer to quit PT Jakarta Monorail if ITC insisted on going ahead with its plan to use ICMI technology.
"Omnico and the rest of the shareholders are business-focused people. We are neither a charity organization nor a political grouping. If the business proposal does not make sense and is not bankable and deliverable, we will chose to discontinue," he said.
ICMI is a local consortium led by Bukaka, whose shares are partly owned by Jusuf Kalla and two state firms. The consortium is supported by state rolling stock manufacturer PT INCA and the Bandung-based, state-owned National Electronics Institute (LEN).
Leon said earlier that Omnico had invested some US$10 million in the project, but Sukmawaty denied Leon's statement.
"There is no evidence that Omnico has invested that much money," she asserted.
Sukmawaty said that the total project cost would only be $489 million if JM used ICMI technology, while with Rotem the cost would come in at $826 million.