Preferential given to small firms

Preferential given to small firms

JAKARTA (JP): Tenders for all municipal government projects
worth under Rp 200 million would be offered exclusively to less
capitalized enterprises as of this April, an official of the pre-
qualification committee said yesterday.

Rozali, the general secretary of the committee, told reporters
that the rule would apply to all projects, whether financed out
of the city's development budget or out of routine budgets.

The move follows a presidential ruling that requires that the
government help promote small enterprises by giving them priority
in tenders for development projects, he said.

The city was now inviting all small enterprises to enlist with
the committee so that they could take part in the pre-qualification
process for the tender of various city projects and also of those
offered by state companies within the boundaries of Jakarta, he
told the Antara news agency.

The city recognizes two categories of small enterprises: those
in trade, services and distribution whose assets are less than Rp
100 million; and those in construction and manufacturing whose
assets are less than Rp 400 million.

Rozali said that only enterprises owned by "pribumi"
(indigenous people) qualified, even though this stipulation was
not contained in the regulation.

The pre-qualification committee will look into the composition
of companies' boards of commissioners and directors in
determining whether a company qualified for the 'small
enterprise' category, he said.

A company wishing to be included in future tenders must have
obtained both an ordinary registration number (TDR C2) and a
special registration number (TDR GEL). With these two
registrations they would be entitled to bid for projects worth
between Rp 15 million and Rp 200 million, Rozali said.

The municipal office has so far received only 2,100
applications for the special registration since it had become
available last November, he said.

"This is far too small a number seeing that the latest
Municipal Office data shows that there must be at least 8,000
small contractors and 18,000 suppliers of goods and services
which qualify as small enterprises," Rizal said. (emb)