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Lawsuit may hamper MRT construction
A lawsuit against Japanese company Shimizu Corporation â which is involved in the ongoing construction of the MRT project in Jakarta â by local company PT Dextam Contractors may hamper the construction, Shimizuâs lawyers said
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lawsuit against Japanese company Shimizu Corporation ' which is involved in the ongoing construction of the MRT project in Jakarta ' by local company PT Dextam Contractors may hamper the construction, Shimizu's lawyers said.
Shimizu is one of five firms that won a tender to construct the MRT system, along with other Japanese firms and state-owned firms.
Dextam filed three civil lawsuits against Shimizu last year for allegedly 'violating its working contract'. While two cases have been dismissed, one case, in which Dextam has demanded that Shimizu must not be involved in any ongoing construction projects ' including the MRT project ' without including Dextam, is still ongoing at the Central Jakarta District Court.
According to one of Shimizu's lawyers, Todung Mulya Lubis, the lawsuit ' if upheld ' would negatively affect the MRT project.
'If the Central Jakarta District Court grants Dextam's demands, the MRT project will be hampered because Shimizu, which is one of the lead contractors in the project, must back out. The project must conduct another tender to find a capable contractor to finish the job,' Todung said during a press conference in Central Jakarta recently.
Dextam is a joint venture established by Shimizu and local developer PT Gofri Megah Tiara.
'It seems that Dextam is purposely trying to hamper the MRT project,' Todung said.
He added that Shimizu had not violated the working contract.
'Dextam claims that according to our working contract, Shimizu as a foreign company must always include Dextam as the local joint-venture company in every construction project. This is not true,' he said.
Moreover, another lawyer for Shimizu, Ahmad Irfan Arifin, said that the company had cut cooperation with Dextam since 2005.
'Shimizu directors have not been involved with Dextam since 2005. Therefore, Dextam's reasoning does not make sense,' Irfan said.
Meanwhile, Dextam's lawyer, Aldy Dio, denied that Shimizu was no longer involved with Dextam.
'Shimizu still holds 49 percent of Dextam's shares. Therefore it is untrue if Shimizu says that it is not
involved with Dextam,' Aldy told The Jakarta Post.
Moreover, Aldy also denied that Dextam was purposely complicating the MRT project.
'That is not true. Dextam is merely demanding that Shimizu take responsibility for violating the working contract. We are not specifically targeting the MRT project. The project just happens to be something that Shimizu is currently working on,' he said.
The construction of the first phase of the MRT track is being funded by a ¥125 billion (US$1,14 billion) loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The track will have six underground stations, seven elevated stations and the capacity to accommodate up to 173,000 passengers per day. The first phase of work requires Rp 3.6 trillion ($298,8 million) in funding.
' JP/Dewanti A. Wardhani
