Telkom networks in Sumatra privatized
Telkom networks in Sumatra privatized
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned PT Telkom yesterday handed over the management of its telecommunications networks throughout Sumatra to PT Pramindo Ikat Nusantara, a joint venture between France Telecom, the Astra group and two other local partners.
The management transfer was made at a ceremony in the North Sumatra capital of Medan under a 15-year joint operation contract signed last October.
Under the contract, Pramindo, which is 59 percent owned by Astratel Nusantara, a subsidiary of the publicly-listed Astra International, will manage the 700,000 fixed telephone lines already installed by Telkom and will install around 540,000 new lines within the next three years.
Telkom's president Setyanto P. Santosa said that his company will receive a minimum revenue of Rp 514 billion (US$223.4 million) this year from Pramindo as compensation for the operation of its existing telephone networks in Sumatra, plus 30 percent of the profit to be made from the operation of the telecommunications networks.
Setyanto, who handed over the management to Pramindo's president Mrs. Nuryana Prasetyo at the ceremony, said that the minimum annual revenue will increase in the following years.
Consortia
Pramindo is one of the five private consortia which have signed joint operation contracts with Telkom.
PT Bukaka Singtel International, which includes Singapore Telecom, took over the management of Telkom's telecommunications networks in the eastern part of the country (Sulawesi, Irian Jaya, Maluku and Nusa Tenggara) on Jan. 3.
PT Mitra Global Telekomunikasi Indonesia, which also groups Australia's Telstra, will take over the management of Telkom's networks in Central Java today, based in Semarang.
PT Aria West International, that also includes West Inc. of the United States, will begin managing Telkom's networks in West Java on Jan. 12 and PT Daya Mitra Malindo, which also includes Telekom of Malaysia, will start operating Telkom's facilities in Kalimantan later this month.
The contracts require Bukaka Singtel to install 403,000 new (fixed) telephone lines in its contract area, Mitra Global 400,000 lines, Aria West 500,000 lines and Daya Mitra 237,000 lines.
Until the end of the five contracts, Telkom's operations are limited only to the greater Jakarta area and East Java.
Telkom, which last year listed its shares on domestic and overseas stock markets, has estimated that it will receive Rp 15 trillion (US$6.5 billion) in revenue from the five joint operation contractors within the 15-year contract period.
Setyanto noted that the joint operation agreements, the recent initial public offering and the restructuring of Telkom are designed to develop the company as a world class operator in the year 2001.
Telkom last year floated 19 percent of its 9.33 billion shares on the New York, London, Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges and raised Rp 2.3 trillion ($1 billion) from the domestic offering and $519.1 million from the overseas offering. (icn)