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City prepares to merge water companies
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A worker controls the quality of raw water at a treatment facility owned by private tap water company PT Palyja in Central Jakarta. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he Jakarta administration is drafting a plan to merge the city’s two water companies, sewage company PD PAL Jaya and water utility PAM Jaya, into a single entity called Perumda Air Jakarta.
Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said that the administration was in the process of preparing the management structure of Perumda Air Jakarta while it was awaiting discussions over the regulation for the merger.
“To merge the two companies, we need a regional regulation. Now we are preparing the company’s management first,” he said at City Hall on Wednesday as quoted by beritajakarta.com.
The idea behind the merger came from big cities in other countries, which have single entities that treat wastewater and provide clean water, Ahok added.
“All over the world, [the management of] waste water and clean water is one. So if we want clean water, we immediately install pipes to get the wastewater as well. So they benefit each other,” he said.
Water pollution and a lack of clean water sources are among the major problems in the capital, yet efforts to resolve them have been sluggish.
PAM Jaya can only meet about 60 percent of the city’s water needs and claims it cannot expand its services because it lacks a water supply.
By merging the companies, the city administration aims to tackle problems with both the supply and treatment of water.
