HC Deb 15 June 1998 vol 314 cc98-9W
Ann Clwyd

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the(a) British and (b) Indonesian companies involved in the Cikampek to Padalarang Toll Road project in Indonesia; what expenditure has been (i) allocated and (ii) incurred by her Department to date; what is the state of progress with the project; and if she will make a statement. [44982]

Mrs. Roche

[holding answer 9 June 1998]: In 1987 the DTI offered Cementation International Ltd. and Cleveland Bridge Engineering Ltd. (then part of Trafalgar House Construction International Ltd. and now part of the Kvaerner Group), Overseas Project Fund assistance of £198,000 towards their pre-contractual costs in pursuing the project. All this financial assistance was spent by the companies in pursuit of the project by July 1989. Trafalgar House International Ltd. formed a joint venture with PT Yala Perkasa International, an Indonesian company, to design and construct the toll road.

I am informed that progress with this project has been delayed for environmental, administrative and financial reasons.

Ann Clwyd

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the foreign direct investments by UK companies in Indonesia which have been cancelled, suspended or reviewed by the Indonesian Government in the last 12 months(a) as a condition of the IMF assistance programme, (b) as a result of links with the family of former President Suharto and (c) for any other reason, in each case specifying the reason and stating the nature and value of the investment and the expenditure incurred to date; and if she will make a statement. [44983]

Mrs. Roche

[holding answer 9 June 1998]: To cope with the sharp depreciation of the Rupiah, a Presidential Decree was issued on 20 September 1997 which postponed and put under review 156 infrastructure projects, worth about US$37 billion. Among these projects, three involve UK companies, but we do not have firm details of the value of the investment, or expenditure incurred to date. As far as we are aware, no project has been cancelled as a result of links with the family of former President Suharto.

It is not possible to assess accurately the value of investment cancelled for any other reason.