Sutiyoso admits water deal unfair

Sutiyoso admits water deal unfair

JAKARTA: Governor Sutiyoso said here on Friday that he once
hired consultants from Singapore to study the contract between
the city tap water company PT Pam Jaya and its two foreign
partners. The consultants concluded that the arrangement was not
in the city's favor.

The recommendation from the consultants showed that eleven
points of the contract had clearly benefited the foreign
companies, to the detriment of city-owned company PT Pam Jaya,
according to Sutiyoso.

"One of the eleven points was that the water charges should be
increased in every six months," he said. He did not elaborate on
the other points.

However, the contract also states that the city
administration, or PT Pam Jaya, must repay any funds previously
invested by the foreign partners, if either party decided to
break the contract.

PT Thames Pam Jaya, a subsidiary of Britain's Thames Water
International, and PT Pan Lyonaise Jaya (Palyja), a subsidiary of
France's ONDEO (formerly Lyonaisse des Eaux), won the water
contract in early 1998. But it was criticized because the deal
was done with the support of ousted president Soeharto's son. It
was revised in 2001, but Sutiyoso said it is still detrimental to
the city.--JP