Sponsors told to use local contactors for telecom projects
Sponsors told to use local contactors for telecom projects
JAKARTA (JP): The government will require sponsors of telecommunications projects to procure no less than 30 percent of equipment and services from domestic sources, Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave said yesterday.
"Sponsors of telecommunications projects, particularly those located outside the greater Jakarta area, will also be required to involve local companies as subcontractors," he said at the opening of a two-day workshop meeting of the Directorate General of Post and Telecommunications.
He said that the involvement of local companies in projects is aimed mainly at narrowing the economic gaps between Jakarta and other areas of the country.
The state-owned telecommunications companies and firms operating telecommunications facilities under cooperation agreements with them will be assigned to pioneer the use of domestic products and services, he said.
Five consortiums have won contracts from the state-owned domestic telecommunications firm PT Telkom to install and manage telephone lines in five areas in the country for 15 years.
A telecommunications executive said yesterday that local suppliers of equipment and services should basically meet standards on quality, prices and delivery.
Joop said that the involvement of local human resources in telecommunications projects is important for the development of the country's telecommunications industry, which is expected to continue growing rapidly.
"The telecommunications industry is growing very fast," he said. "There will be 6.7 million fixed telephone lines installed during the ongoing Sixth Five-Year Development Plan period, higher than the original target of five million lines."
Meanwhile, Joop said also that the state-owned PT Pos Indonesia is now inviting cooperation with foreign firms in the country's postal services, particularly in postal handling services via land, sea and air transportation.
Mailing and packaging services are also open for overseas and domestic companies offering high technology, he said.
In addition to officials of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, hundreds of officials from other governmental institutions are also taking part in the two-day meeting, including officials of the Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Trade, the National Development Planning Board, Supreme Court and Armed Forces.
A number of associations, private firms and state-owned companies dealing with the postal and telecommunications industry are also participating in the meeting.
Director General of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria Purawidjaja said that the meeting will receive suggestions on tariff restructuring for the mobile cellular telecommunications.
The tariff of Rp 275 per minute (US$0.11) on cellular telephone calls in Indonesia is considered as one of the most expensive in the world. (icn)