Piped water to be available to 60% of city population
Piped water to be available to 60% of city population
JAKARTA (JP): The City Water Company (PDAM Jaya) has said that
it will be able to serve 60 percent of Jakarta's 8.4 million
population when the development of the Buaran II water treatment
plant is completed by the end of this year.
"We've been informed by the company's finance director that 85
percent of the plant's construction is already finished,"
Abdulgani H. Abdullah, the chairman of the City Council's
Commission B on economy, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
Abdulgani, together with other members of Commission B,
visited Buaran I and II treatment plants in East Jakarta on
Monday. The inspection came after a hearing with PDAM Jaya's
management on how the company plans to provide the city with
tapped water during the current dry season. Buaran I and II has
an installed capacity of 5,000 liters per second.
Water supply from the Buaran I and II plant was designed to
meet the needs of North and East Jakarta.
PDAM Jaya finance director Machmud Ranusemito said 37 percent
of the company's overall installed capacity of 12,500 liters per
second was unaccounted for due to leaky pipes.
"Thus far we have replaced only 54 percent of old pipes,"
Machmud said. He added that lack of funds was the major problem
faced by the company in the replacement of old equipment.
Abdulgani said that PDAM Jaya has procured loans from the
World Bank to finance a water pipe replacement project.
PDAM Jaya has repeatedly complained that the installment fees
set by the World Bank were too steep for them to carry. This was
the main reason put forward by the city-owned company for
increasing water prices in June for all groups of water
consumers, including the price of public water taps.
Although the City Council agreed to the price hike in
principle, the City Council's commission C and D protested the
company's recent decision to raise the price of water from public
valves by 200 percent from Rp 390 to Rp 780 (18 to 36 U.S. cents)
per cubic meter.
Vow
Some city councilors who were still unhappy with PDAM Jaya's
decision to raise the price of public water spigots said they
were campaigning to block the company's plan, which they said was
legally questionable.
Sumari, the vice chairman of the City Council's Commission C
on finance, told reporters yesterday that the Ministry of Home
Affairs denied it had given a permit to the city-owned company to
raise the price of public water taps.
"The fact that the ministry has denied that it gave approval
for the increase means that the decision can still be revoked,"
Sumari said.
Previously, PDAM Jaya said it had gained approval from the
governor and the Ministry of Home Affairs for the planned price
increase. Pos Kota daily later reported, however, that the
Ministry of Home Affairs did neither initiate the increase nor
make any instructions to PDAM Jaya to increase the price.
Helmy A.R. Syihab, the commission C chairman, confirmed
Sumari's remarks about the commission's campaign to annul the
increase.
But if that failed, Helmy said the commission would ask PDAM
Jaya to apply a ceiling price -- which, of course, would be
higher than Rp 390.
To make the increase less painful, Helmy said, PDAM Jaya
should give a compensation of, say, Rp 100 to Rp 150 per cubic
meter to the owners of public water tanks so they will not
increase the price of water they sell to water vendors. Vendors,
in turn, should also not increase the water they sell to end-
consumers.
Hence, the end-consumers of water from public water tanks, who
mostly are low-income earners, will not have to bear the
increase, Helmy added optimistically. (arf)