State-owned hotels ready for privatization
JAKARTA (JP): Seven hotels owned and managed by the state- owned hotel operator PT Hotel Indonesia International Corporation and Natour are ready to be refurbished and extended with the help of private investors.
Company president Indra Setiawan said yesterday that about 20 firms were interested in bidding for the refurbishment projects: under joint operation; build, transfer and operate; or build, operate and own schemes.
They were also invited to establish joint venture firms with Hotel Indonesia, he said.
Hotel Indonesia International Corporation and Natour was created in 1993 as the holding company for PT Hotel Indonesia International and PT Natour which merged to become more efficient.
Hotel Indonesia, established 1962, runs seven hotels with 2,329 rooms. Natour, established 1953, manages 10 hotels with 1,065 rooms.
Indra said that Hotel Indonesia International suffered a Rp 27.5 billion loss in 1995.
"The loss is estimated to decrease to Rp 6 billion this year but it may double to Rp 12 billion next year if Hotel Indonesia and Hotel Wisata International in Jakarta are renovated," he said.
Natour made a Rp 93 million profit in 1995 after suffering a Rp 2.2 billion loss the previous year.
Indra said that private firms had been invited to set up joint venture companies with Hotel Indonesia to refurbish Ambarrukmo Hotel in Yogyakarta, to expand Hotel Wisata and Hotel Indonesia in Jakarta under build, transfer and operate schemes and to expand Dibya Puri Hotel in Semarang, Central Java, Muara Hotel in Padang, West Sumatra, Natour Hotel in Denpasar, Bali, and Darma Deli Hotel in Medan, North Sumatra, under joint operation schemes.
Sources said the projects would cost US$500 million.
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave has reiterated that the schemes are the best way for Hotel Indonesia International Corporation to undertake the projects.
He said the government would no longer give additional equity capital to Hotel Indonesia International Corporation.
Indra said his company had selected three companies as financial, legal and design advisors to support the refurbishment projects. (icn)