•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

The city administration has chosen to retain PT Jakarta Inter­national Expo as the organizer of the annual Jakarta Fair, an official said on Tuesday, despite the City Council calling for the de facto monopoly to end.

“There have been no changes to the contract,” said Mara Oloan Siregar, assistant to the city secretary for economic and administrative affairs.

JIExpo is partly owned by the city, with whom it shares some of the revenue from the events it holds.

“Their hosting of the event spares the city from certain costs, such as subsidies for small and medium exhibitors, who are subsidized by larger exhibitors,” Mara said.

The City Council had requested that the administration open a tender for bidders seeking to organize the Jakarta Fair this year, but Mara ruled that out.

“The fair will be held in June and the preparations are already under way, so it’s too late for a tender.” He said the administration did not want to push back the iconic event.

Lulung Lunggana, the council’s deputy chairman, said: “The Jakarta Fair as a brand belongs to the people of Jakarta. The city administration must terminate its contract with JIExpo because it doesn’t pay revenue from holding the fair despite making money from the brand.”

He said the only revenue stream from the fair came from exhibitors participating in it.

Lulung said the City Council expected the administration to hold an open tender for the fair and include a revenue clause.

“We don’t mind if JIExpo wins such a tender, because then it’ll be fair and they’ll be taxed.”

Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) official Ahmad Ramadhan Siregar told the Jakarta Globe that the regulator had reported to the City Council the “monopolistic practices ... facilitated by the city administration” in the awarding of the contract. He said the 1992 bylaw stipulating the event must be held at the Jakarta Fairgrounds in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, must be reviewed for any change to take effect.

University of Indonesia public-policy expert Andrinof Chaniago agreed the bylaw facilitated the virtual monopoly.

“It goes against good governance and the 1999 Monopoly Law,” he told the Globe.

He said the city should increase its current 13.9 percent share in the Jakarta Fair to 50 percent to reflect public ownership of the event’s brand.

JIExpo managing director Budi Santosa said the City Council’s allegations were false, but declined to elaborate.

The month-long fair is held every June to mark the capital’s anniversary, drawing more than 2,700 exhibitors and four million visitors last year.