PES - WEST JAVA TRANSMISSION I AND II

EVALUATION IS BASED ON REGULAR SITE INSPECTIONS, MONTHLY PROJECT MEETINGS AND FILES, AND DISCUSSIONS WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF INDONESIA (GOI) COUNTERPARTS, AN AMERICAN ENGINEER, AND THE AMERICAN CONTRACTOR. THE PROJECT IS 55% COMPLETED. TOWER FOUNDATIONS ARE 96% COMPLETED, AND TOWER ERECTION IS 90% COMPLETED. CONDUCTOR STRINGING IS 50% COMPLETED, WITH STRINGING SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION IN JUNE 1980. SUBSTATION CONSTRUCTION IS 5% COMPLETED, AND APPROXIMATELY 90% OF ALL PROJECT MATERIAL HAS BEEN RECEIVED. THERE HAS BEEN DIFFICULTY IN GETTING THE LOCAL CONTRACTORS TO ADHERE TO SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TOWER FOUNDATIONS. AFTER A SLOW START, THE PROBLEMS WERE OVERCOME, AND PERFORMANCE IS GENERALLY GOOD. THE CONTRACTOR ON WEST JAVA PHASE II IS CONSIDERABLY BETTER QUALIFIED AND IS DOING A MUCH BETTER JOB THAN THE CONTRACTORS ON PHASE I. HOWEVER, ALL FOUNDATIONS HAVE MET SPECIFICATIONS. ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS RESULTED FROM CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT PROCEDURE IN AWARDING CONTRACTS. IN FEBRUARY 1980, GOI WENT ON MULTI-YEAR FUNDING, PERMITTING THE GOI COUNTERPART TO SIGN CONTRACTS WITH THE AVAILABLE BUDGET FOR THAT YEAR. THE TRAINING PROGRAM HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL. APPROXIMATELY 120 TRAINEES HAVE ATTENDED FORMALIZED COURSES IN FOUNDATION INSPECTION, TOWER ERECTION, AND CONDUCTOR STRINGING. ON-THE-JOB TRAINING IS TO CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT. AID HAS LEARNED THE FOLLOWING LESSONS FROM THIS ACTIVITY. ACQUISITION OF LAND AND RIGHT-OF-WAY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF TRANSMISSION LINES IN INDONESIA TAKES LONG PERIODS OF TIME, AND CONSTRUCTION CANNOT BEGIN UNTIL COMPENSATION ISSUES ARE RESOLVED. THERE IS A NEED TO HAVE MORE ASSURANCE THAT BOTH THE ENGINEER AND CONTRACTOR WILL HOLD PERSONNEL TURNOVER TO A MINIMUM. SUFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION MUST BE PROVIDED FOR THE ENGINEER"S FIELD STAFF, INSPECTORS, AND SUPERVISORS. FINALLY, THIS PROJECT IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE PITFALLS ENCOUNTERED IN AWARDING CONTRACTS TO THE LOWEST BIDDER WITHOUT SUFFICIENT CONSIDERATION OF EXPERIENCE AND FINANCIAL CONDITION.