Purnomo calls on PLN, Bukaka to solve dispute out of court
Friday, June 22 2001 - 04:48 AM WIB
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro called on local firm Bukaka Teknik Utama to solve its dispute with state electricity company PLN out of court to allow the construction of a vital facility for the transmission of power from East Java to West Java, according to several local papers.
Purnomo made the statement on Thursday following Bukaka's move to sue PLN for annulling its contract for the construction of the US$75 million Klaten-Tasikmalaya transmission station.
PLN annulled the contract last year at the request of President Abdurrahman Wahid, who accused the company of obtaining the contract through corrupt practices during bidding.
PLN then held another bidding for the contract, which was won by Austrian firm Asea Brown Boveri (ABB).
But, ABB has reportedly delayed the construction of the transmission station until the court decides on the lawsuit filed by Bukaka.
Purnomo said that under the initial plan, the transmission station, locally known as "gitet", should have been completed in 2002 so that power produced in East Java could be transported to the rest of Java in 2003 or 2004 at latest.
"We have to push for the develoment of the tranmission station so that power from East Java could be transported to West Java in 2003 or 2004 at the latest.
"The problem we are facing is that there are too many power plants in East Java, while in West Java we have only few," Purnomo told reporters on the sidelines of the deliberation of the oil and gas bill at the House of Representatives.
Several investors have developed huge power plants in East Java, including PT Paiton Energy, which has built a 1,230 Megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Paiton, Probolinggo, and PT Jawa Power, which has built a 1,220 MW coal power plant in the same area.
Purnomo said that he had offered some alternatives to Bukaka to persuade it to drop its lawsuit against PLN. The alternatives include that Bukaka lower its prices or Bukaka participate in the construction of the facility together with ABB.
In its lawsuit filed last year at the Jakarta Adminsitrative Court, Bukaka claimed that it had spent around Rp 25 billion (US$=Rp 11,300) for preliminary works for the facility. (*)