TPJ to stay in Jakarta

JAKARTA: PT Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ), a subsidiary of Britain's Thames Water International, stated on Thursday that the water company would not pull out of Jakarta as reported by the media recently following a meeting between British Ambassador to Indonesia Richard Gozney and Vice President Hamzah Haz.

TPJ president director John Trew said in a press release that although the company was facing serious business challenges, he was hopeful that solutions could be found.

"We are losing approximately US$1 million per month and it's been like this for several years. We have suffered about US$58 million in total losses and this figure is rising by the month," he said.

TPJ had invested Rp 552.6 billion (US$65 million) in its operation, which supplies tap water to 64 percent of the total population in the eastern part of the capital.

Illegal connections, non-revenue water, water theft and the deteriorating quality of raw water due to pollution and turbidity had been the main problems facing the company. -- JP