DKI DPRD asks PAM Jaya not to compare the water tariff of residents of the Thousand Islands with other cities in Jakarta

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta DPRD has asked PAM Jaya to provide special treatment for residents of the Thousand Islands in clean water services. Although administratively it is in the Jakarta area, people on the islands are considered to face different conditions than residents on the mainland.

Member of Commission C of the DKI Jakarta DPRD August Hamonangan assessed that the Thousand Islands still have the characteristics of a lagging, leading, and outermost region (3T) that needs to be considered in determining basic service policies, including clean water.

"Even though the location is very close to (the mainland) Jakarta," said August, Thursday, June 4.

The request was made following the transfer of management of clean water services in the Thousand Islands from the DKI Jakarta Water Resources Service (SDA) to PAM Jaya. According to August, changes in management should not result in an increase in the burden that must be borne by the community.

"There must be special treatment for residents of the Thousand Islands," said August.

He reminded that clean water is a basic need that must be reached by all citizens at a reasonable price. Therefore, local governments and BUMD are required to maintain a balance between the quality of services and the ability of the community to pay.

Responding to this, PAM Jaya President Director Arief Nasrudin admitted that the cost of providing clean water in the Thousand Islands was much more expensive than in the mainland Jakarta area. The water used by the community is processed from seawater using Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) technology.

"The cost of processing and refining seawater is quite expensive," said Arief.

According to Arief, the cost of producing clean water in the Thousand Islands reaches around Rp. 40 thousand per cubic meter. However, the tariff charged to the public is far below the production cost, namely Rp. 3,550 for 10 cubic meters of use.

This condition makes the difference in operating costs and revenue quite large. However, PAM Jaya still maintains the service because the provision of clean water in the Thousand Islands is not solely calculated based on business aspects.

To reduce production costs, PAM Jaya has prepared a long-term plan by building a pipeline network from the mainland to the archipelago. This step is expected to reduce dependence on desalination technology, which has been a source of high operating costs.

"That way, production costs can be reduced from around Rp. 40 thousand to around Rp. 20 thousand per cubic meter," explained Arief.

Currently, PAM Jaya has served almost all inhabited islands in the Thousand Islands, including Sebira Island which is located at the northernmost point of the Jakarta area. The service does not include private islands because it uses a different commercial scheme.