Tripatra wins international consultancy tender

JAKARTA (JP): PT Tripatra Engineering, an Indonesian consulting company, has won a project management consultancy tender for a US$600 million project for the installation of 824 kilometers of gas pipelines in Sumatra, the company's president Pandri Prabono said yesterday.

"Tripatra Engineering is the first national consulting company in the country to win a project management consultancy which is financed by multinational institutions," Padri said at the reception for the project's inauguration at the Sahid Jaya hotel here.

The gas pipeline construction will be financed by the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Exim Bank of Japan.

"Similar projects funded by multinational banks are usually awarded to multinational consulting firms," Pandri said.

He added that previously it had been virtually impossible for Indonesian consulting companies to take part in the tender for such a big project, let alone to win such a bid.

A. Qoyuum, the chief executive of the state-owned PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, which owns the project, inaugurated the project yesterday.

The gas pipeline will be comprised of two sections. One 544-km section will run from a gas field in South Sumatra to Duri in Riau, while a 280-km section will link Jambi in Central Sumatera with Batam in Riau.

A public tender for the laying of the pipeline is still being prepared.

The pipeline project is slated to begin next August and is scheduled to be completed within one year.

Pandri said that Tripatra Engineering was one of six bidders for the project's management. The others were British Gas (UK), Sofregas (France), Pipeline Engineering Gmbh (Germany), Fluor Daniel (USA) and Novacorp (Canada).

Tripatra Engineering, which is also engaged in both the supply of oil and gas mining equipment and the construction industry, was founded in 1973.

The firm has previously been involved in projects of the state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, including oil and gas piping, booster compression and turbine construction. (kod)