T

he decision by the Central Jakarta District Court in the water privatization case it is currently hearing has been postponed by the panel of judges who say they are not ready to deliver the verdict and that the two defendants have requested reconciliation.

Presiding judge Iim Nurokhim said on Tuesday the verdict would be delayed for a month until Feb. 10.

Iim said while the judges were discussing the verdict, the two defendants '€” the city administration and city-water operator PD PAM Jaya '€” could proceed with the request for an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiffs, the Coalition of Jakarta Residents Opposing to Water Privatization (KMMSAJ).

'€œI hope the time is sufficient for both parties to settle,'€ he said.

The KMMSAJ filed a lawsuit in November 2012, demanding the court annul the cooperation between PAM Jaya and two private firms '€” PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and PT Aetra Air Jakarta (Aetra). It claimed the cooperation failed to guarantee an adequate supply of clean potable water in Jakarta.

According to the coalition, the cooperation also caused Rp 1.7 trillion (US$134 million) in state losses, in the form of fees that PAM Jaya had to pay to both companies.

In their 16-year operation, the two companies have only been able to fulfill the water demand of around 65 percent of the city'€™s residents, leaving the remainder dependent on ground water, the quality of which has rapidly deteriorated as a result of new construction and inadequate water recharge.

The city administration'€™s lawyer Haratua Purba said after Tuesday'€™s hearing that while waiting for the verdict, either party had the opportunity to settle out of court.

He said, however, that his team had not worked out the matters that would be offered in the settlement.

The administration previously offered as a settlement a contract termination for Palyja. The administration also planned to acquire Palyja'€™s shares.

The KMMSAJ rejected this offer, demanding the termination of the contracts of both companies.

KMMSAJ lawyer Arif Maulana said the coalition would agree to settle out of court as long as the defendants fulfilled all their demands.

'€œThe demands comprise terminating the contracts between PAM Jaya and both firms '€” Palyja and Aetra, handing over the operation of the water supply in the city to the state. The state can be represented by PAM Jaya. However, the management of PAM Jaya should be revamped first,'€ he said.

Dozens of residents staged a protest in front of the court in support of the KMMSAJ during the hearing while more than 6,400 residents signed a petition opposing the privatization at change.org.

Despite legal uncertainty resulting from the trial and acquisition plans, Palyja still plans to invest Rp 318.6 billion in water resources and new pipe connections as well as programs to reduce non revenue water (NRW), the term for leaks and illegal tapping, by 1 percent.

Palyja deputy director Herawati said recently that inadequate water resources was one of the biggest obstacles the company faced in expanding its service.

'€œThe volume of water supply has not increased since the company was established in 1998 while the number of our customers has now doubled,'€ she said.

Herawati said her company would build a water-treatment plant on the Pesanggrahan River in South Jakarta as well as booster pumps in Fatmawati in South Jakarta and Harmoni in Central Jakarta.

She said the inadequate water supply was exacerbated by the high proportion of NRW, which stood at 39.6 percent.