Let the Private Sector Clean Up City’s Trash

If there was any doubt that a radical rethink is needed for the provision of public facilities in Jakarta, than the fact that nearly 50 percent of the city’s garbage trucks will be inoperable in two years’ time should prove a convincing argument.

Eko Bharuna , the head of the city’s sanitation office, said that in 2010, 201 of the city’s 797 garbage trucks were already unusable and that number is expected to rise to 367 trucks by 2014.

He added that most of the trucks were at least 15 years old, which is a bad sign in a city that currently produces some 6,500 tons of waste a day.

If things stay as there are, Jakarta’s residents better brace themselves for a huge stink.

And the amount of garbage the city is churning out daily will only rise along with the rapid rise of the metropolis’s population. There is a certain urgency to rapidly deal with the prospect of having to handle rising amounts of waste with dwindling resources.

Thankfully, however, the city government is adopting a fresh approach in an effort to solve its garbage problem.

Eko said that in the future, the city sanitation office would only act as a regulator while the operator of the city’s waste transportation as well as processing services will go into the hands of the private sector.

But the government should also bear in mind that garbage disposal and processing is a public service and that it should not try to make a profit when handing over the business to the private sector. Private businesses are there to make profit, but in this case, profits should also be restricted so as not to burden the public purse.

The government has ample time to prepare for this well ahead. It still has hundreds of garbage trucks in operation, for at least another couple of years.

It might have taken some time to get to this stage but this move is highly welcome. The government should not be in business and where the private sector can do a better job, it should hand over the reins.

The government should focus on ensuring that regulations are business friendly and not too cumbersome but leave the private sector to manage such facilities efficiently and effectively.

Editorial: Let the Private Sector Clean Up City’s Trash | The Jakarta Globe.

Airport and toll road become priorities in 2012

JAKARTA: Ministry of National Development Planning reveals the priorities in infrastructure construction next year, which is included in Indonesia’s Master Plan of Economic Development Expansion Acceleration (MP3EI).

The priority of infrastructure development will be focused on MP3EI projects and Metropolitan Priority Area (MPA), said Dedy Supriadi Priatna, Deputy of Facility and Infrastructure at Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas).

The projects include expansion of Tanjung Priok Port with investment of US$1.17 billion and expansion of Soekarno-Hatta Airport. The airport expansion features modification of terminal and taxiway, Dedy said.

In addition, the priority include some toll road projects, including Serangan-Tanjung Benoa toll road in Bali with investment US$196.1 million and Pasir Koja-Soreang toll road in West Java with investment of US$143.5 million.

There is also Bandung Intra Toll Road, which will be constructed inside the capital of West Java Province, with investment of US$800 million. Another toll road will connect Cileunyo-Sumedang-Dawuan in West Java with investment of US$1.01 billion.

The first groundbreaking of Cileunyi-Sumedang-Dawuan (Cisumdawu) will take place in January 2012, building 6.35-kilometer road with investment of IDR1.02 trillion.

The groundbreaking may start after the signing of construction agreement on Dec 1 between Directorate General of Road Construction at Ministry of Public Works and the winning contractor consortium, consisting Shanghai Corporation Construction Group, PT Waskita Karya and PT Wijaya Karya.

At the signing ceremony, Director General of Road Construction at Ministry of Public Works Djoko Murjanto said that the start of construction in the Rancakalong-Sumedang section would be completed to increase the project feasibility to 17%.

The feasibility is crucial, as a bidding will be taken to find investor for the project under a public private partnership. Part of the construction uses funding from 2012 State Budget and loans from China.

In the meantime, Binjai-Medan-Kuala Namu-Tebing Tinggi toll road will start construction with investment of US$790.8 million. According to data of MP3EI projects, the 16.91-kilometer road from Medan to Kuala Namu will get funding from China as much as IDR1.22 trillion. The signing of the contract took place on December 12.

In Kalimantan, three main construction project priorities are Malory International Harbor in East Kalimantan with US$1.78 billion investment value, extension of Tjilik Riwut Airport in Central Kalimantan US$11.3 million and Tayang Bridge in West Kalimantan IDR740 billion.

The construction of two special economic zones, Sei Mangke in South Sumatera and Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Dedy continued, also become government main focuses. According to MP3EI project data, SEI Mangke needs IDR334 billion while the construction of industrial zone needs IDR2.50 trillion.

Tourism spot Mandalika in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara will also become new economic zone in 2012. The development requires IDR829 billion to construct infrastructure, public facilities, hotels, villas, residential areas and golf field.

Airport and toll road become priorities in 2012 – Bisnis.com.

Finance Ministry urged to issue regulation on MP3EI gap fund

JAKARTA : The Ministry of Finance is urged to immediately issue regulation on viability gap fund by the end of the year, to speed up the construction of five nation-scale project in 2012. “This regulation must be issued in the end of December to speed up those projects. Otherwise, there will be another delay,” Dedy Supriadi Priatna, a Deputy Minister of National Development Planning Agency, this week end. Some of the projects, under the acceleration and expansion of economic development masterplan MP3EI, are Lampung water supply worth US$50 million and Umbulan project US$300 million–US$500 million in Pasuruan, East Java. Next, Dedy who is in charge on infrastructure and utilities said Maros project US$50 million, railway infrastructure in Central Borneo US$1,5 billion–US$3 billion, and Ampo terminal US$50 million. Such regulation will allow private investors to obtain viability gap fund VGF in cash after the construction phase on infrastructure finished. The government must work hard in formulating the regulation to justify the lumpsum system. The fund will be given to projects that economically viable, but having profit gap under investor’s expectation.

Finance Ministry urged to issue regulation on MP3EI gap fund – Bisnis.com.