JICA-Dephub blame each other

JAKARTA: The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Department of Transportation blame each other for the delay in the fixing of the winner at the tender for mass rapid transit (MRT) basic design.

The JICA says it is still waiting for a response to the list of questions concerning the recommendation of the tender winner sent to the Department of Transportation, which states it has sent back its response.

“We sent our reply to the JICA at the end of last year. Therefore, just like Jakarta, we also expect the JICA to determine the winner sooner,” informed Director General of Railways at the Department of Transportation Wendy Aritenang Yazid yesterday.

However, according to the JICA spokesperson Iman Senoadji, the Department of Transportation had not sent its response to the list of evaluation questions.

“The ball is in the hands of the Department of Transportation right now and we are still waiting for the response,” he said.

Iman explained the essence of the list of questions sent to the Department of Transportation was the request for clarification about the reason the department favored PT Katahira and set aside PT Nippon by giving them a point of 75.43 points and 74.13 points, respectively.

The request for clarification, he continued, was a common procedure in the JICA. It was the clarification that would serve as a basis to determine the winner at the US$17 million worth of tender.

Wendy and Iman made their statements in response to pressure from Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo for the JICA and the Department of Transportation to soon determine the winner of the tender for MRT basic design, so the Jakarta Provincial Government could start the construction of the project.

The tender is supposed to be announced in December 2008. For Jakarta, if the basic design work is delayed, the land acquisition and physical construction will also be prolonged.

Design work is targeted to be completed by March 2010, land acquisition by the end of 2010, and physical construction is projected to start by 2011.

The tender was initially followed by three Japanese consortia, namely Katahira & Engineers International, Nippon Kei Co Ltd, and Pacific Consultant International. The last of the consortium was later annulled on the JICA’s discretion. At the tender, Katahira forms an alliance with four local companies, namely PT Hasfarm Dian Konsultan, PT Connel Wagner Indonesia, PT Delta Tama Jaya, and PT Indotek Konsultan Utama.

Meanwhile, Nippon joins hands with six local partners, namely PT Jaya CM Manggala Pratama, PT Dardela Yasa Guna, PT Inti Daya Kreasicitra, PT Wiratman & Ass, PT Raya Konsult, and PT LAPI Institut Teknologi Bandung.

Of the two remaining consortia, Minister of Transportation Jusman Syafii Djamal through the letter M.105/PL.101/MPHB on November 14, 2008 established Katahira as the winner. The decision was later sent to the JICA for final approval.

Jakarta Government ‘Takes over’

In the meantime, the Jakarta Provincial Government is touted to prepare a scenario to ‘take over’ the basic design work through PT MRT Jakart. Such a measure is prepared to anticipate a delay in the previous schedule.

President Director of PT MRT Jakarta Eddi Santosa revealed the scenario was prepared by hiring different executive consultant, which also serves as the basic design contractor, from the one chosen by the JICA and the Department of Transportation.

However, Eddy denied if such a measure meant that PT MRT Jakarta ‘took over’ the basic design work since the consultant hired by PT MRT only served to assist the main consultant.

“So, after the JICA and the Department of Transportation appoint the basic work consultant company, we will recruit a contractor company through an open tender. The spirit is to keep the project on time and able to create benefits for the Jakartans soon.” (Bisnis/bsi/hwi/mcd)

Source: bisnis.com