Kalla demands govt revive Bukaka's deal
Friday, June 16 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
Former minister of industry and trade Jusuf Kalla said on Wednesday he would continue his fight against the government's recent decision to revoke the contract awarded by state electricity firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to his company.
"We want PLN to cancel the plan to retender the project which we have already won," Kalla said following a meeting with the House of Representatives' Commission III.
He was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post daily that he would send a second warning letter to PLN next week to notify the latter that a law suit was waiting if PLN failed to implement his company's contract.
PT Bukaka-Wijaya Karya Mega Eltra, owned by Kalla, won the contract in late 1999 to build a US$75 million power transmission network linking the Paiton power plant in East Java and a power distribution net in West Java.
But the government annulled the contract in May on grounds that the company was financially unfit to carry out the project.
Kalla denied this, pointing out that his company was supported by Mitsubishi.
He alleged President Abdurrahman Wahid had intervened in the cancellation of his company's contract with PLN.
Kalla also said that Abdurrahman's Chinese heeler, Daniel Tay, had played a middleman to ensure that the ABB consortium wins the project.
The Jakarta Post mistakenly reported earlier that Daniel was representing Shanghai Trans. (*)