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)