Palyja completes clean water access program

JAKARTA: PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), one of the city's two private water operators, said Friday it had completed a Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA) program and was awaiting an audit before being reimbursed by the World Bank.

Palyja spokeswoman Meyritha Maryanie said that under the program, begun in 2008, 5,000 low-income customers in northwest and north Jakarta received access to piped water.

"Once the GPOBA customers have used 10 cubic meters of water a month, an independent auditor will audit the program," she said.

She added Palyja had funded the program itself and would be reimbursed by the World Bank once the audit was done.

Meyritha added that during the company's 12 years in business in Jakarta, it had turned a profit, but the dividends paid to shareholders had not yet covered their initial capital outlay.

Palyja's official website lists its 2008 profit as Rp 136.8 billion (US$15 million), or an increase of 15.8 percent from the Rp 118.1 billion profit recorded in 2007. - JP