Bukaka disqualified for not having "SOC"

The contract awarded to PT Bukaka Teknik Utama to develop the US$75 million power transmission network was cancelled because the company failed to submit the required Standard Operation Certificate, according to the Inspector general of the mines and energy ministry Muzani Syukur.

"During an inspection, we found that Bukaka only provided Technical Operation Certificate (TPO) instead of SOC as required," he was quoted as saying by Kompas daily. He added providing SOC certificate was one of important requirements that Bukaka should meet to show that the company had a successful track record in similar projects in the past.

He acknowledged that the financier of the project did not question the existence of the certificate but the government saw the company's failure as an act that breached the standard procedure.

Muzani's explanation was one of many conflicting statements issued by the government to justify the suspension of the contract awarded to Bukaka. President Abdurrahman said earlier that the contract was suspended because Bukaka won the tender through KKN, the acronym for corruption, cronyism and nepotism. The President later said that the company was disqualified because it has a bad track record in carrying the government projects in the past.

Coordinating Minister of Finance and Trade Kwik Kian Gie had another reason. He said that the contract was annulled because the company was financially unfit to carry out the projects. Jusuf Kalla, the owner of the company denied the charge.

Kalla, the former trade and industry minister, accused the government's move to annul his company's contract was made to pave the way for Gus Dur's crony to take over the project. He said that a close friend of Gus Dur, Harold Jansen had intensively lobbied PLN to cut the contract awarded to his company. The man wanted the government and PLN to name ABB consortium to replace Bukaka in the project.

Kalla was dismissed by President from his ministerial post due to his alleged KKN practices in obtaining the power projects. (*)