Jokowi Outspoken Construction Entrepreneurs Often Turn Prices To Win Projects

President Jokowi (photo: Screenshot by Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has been outspoken about the competition between entrepreneurs in the construction sector. He said entrepreneurs often slammed prices to win tenders over targeted projects.

This was conveyed by Jokowi in front of entrepreneurs who are members of the Indonesian National Construction Implementation Association (Gapensi), in the Reflection and Notes of the 10th Anniversary of Jokowi's Order in the Fields of Construction, Infrastructure, and Investment, in Jakarta, Wednesday, July 31.

Jokowi revealed that the project auction was indeed the target of business actors in the conturction sector. According to him, Gapensi will not be separated from the offering price.

"Well, this is related to Gapensi for auction matters, auction matters, bid price matters. This Gapensi is never free from this offering price," said Jokowi.

The former governor of DKI Jakarta said that the competition in winning the tender was a good thing. However, Jokowi considered slamming prices to win the project to be an inappropriate step.

What I see from afar is that the price is usually pushed so that they win the project, isn't it?. It's okay, the competition is good, competing is good. But if you have slammed the price that's not good," he said.

Dengan besar harga, sambung Jokowi, tentunya kemungkinan memenangkan proyek yang ditarget menjadi besar. Namun, dia bilang, hal tersebut akan menurunkan biaya atau anggaran untuk produksi. Akibatnya, kualitas yang diberikan pun menurut.

"In order to win the HPS project (Self Estimated Price), the HPS fell below 80 percent. There are a lot of them. Is it true or not?" Jokowi asked.

"If it's like this, what is sacrificed by the victim is that it has to be quality, it will definitely run there. The sand is multiplyed, the cement is reduced, the iron is minimized," he said.

Even so, Jokowi believes that entrepreneurs who are members of the Indonesian National Construction Implementation Association (Gapensi) will not carry out price-sult practices to win projects.

"But no, at Gapensi, you don't (do these practices)," he said.

"I ask Gapensi as one of the largest construction service associations in producing construction works to really be of higher quality," he continued.