Unfair revenue split causes losses to Jasa Marga

Unfair revenue split causes losses to Jasa Marga

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post. Jakarta

State-owned toll operator PT Jasa Marga said that the recent
audit findings of Rp 1.68 trillion (about US$160 million) in
efficiency losses were mainly caused by an uneven revenue sharing
scheme between the company and private toll road investor PT
Citra Marga Nusapala Persada (CMNP).

Jasa Marga president Syarifuddin Alambai said on Wednesday
that in the revenue sharing scheme for the construction of the
Cawang-Tanjung Priok toll road, initiated by the government in
1989, Jasa Marga would receive 25 percent of the total revenue
from the road, while CMNP would receive 75 percent.

"At the time, the government allowed CMNP to receive a higher
share because it had invested more money in the project than us,"
he said in a media conference here.

In the agreement, Jasa Marga operates the Cawang-Grogol
section, while CMNP operates the Cawang-Pluit section,
Syarifuddin said.

Since then it became clear that the Cawang-Grogol section was
more profitable than the Cawang-Pluit section operated by CMNP,
he said, explaining that the traffic flow between Cawang and
Grogol was 65 percent higher than between Cawang and Pluit.

Syarifuddin said that the audit found that if the revenue
sharing scheme was to continue for the extent of the contract, or
until 2023, then there would be efficiency losses amounting to Rp
1.1 trillion and potential loss of Rp 1.9 trillion.

"Therefore Jasa Marga and CMNP have agreed to make adjustments
to the revenue split, but we have not reached an agreement yet on
the percentages," he said.

According to Jasa Marga's calculation, based on the value of
investment and the amount of traffic, the company's portion
should be 53 percent and CMNP 47 percent since 1997, Syarifuddin
said.

However, CMNP had proposed that the split be 65 percent for
CMNP and 35 percent for Jasa Marga, he said.

"If we cannot reach an agreement on this, we will invite the
help of an arbitration committee to make a calculation and
determine the split," Syarifuddin added.

CMNP, founded by, among others, former president Soeharto's
daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, is 17.79 percent owned by Jasa
Marga, 11.01 percent owned by Yayasan Purna Bhakti Pertiwi, 8.8
percent owned by PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, 6 percent owned
by PT Krakatau Steel, 7.39 percent owned by PT Steady Safe, 6.6
percent owned by Steady Safe Finance BV, 2.43 percent by PT Citra
Lamtorogung Persada, and 0.4 percent by a cooperative. The
remainder of the CMNP shares (39.58 percent) are owned by the
public.

The special audit on Jasa Marga was conducted by Hadi Susanto
& Partners, a member of PricewaterhouseCoopers, on behalf of the
government for the period between 1995 and 1999.

Besides Jasa Marga, independent audits were also conducted on
four other state-owned companies as part of an agreement between
the government and the International Monetary Fund. The audit
results were made public last week.

The other companies audited were PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II, PT
Perkebunan Nusantara IV, PT Garuda Indonesia, and PT Telkom.

The auditors found efficiency losses totaling Rp 8.5 trillion
and $1.62 billion, potential losses of Rp 7.35 trillion and $698
million, and savings or profit losses of Rp 776.02 billion, Rp
64.7 billion a year and $147 million.