An Indonesian Supreme Court ruling has ordered Jakarta to end one of the world’s largest water privatization schemes, and the capital city is now scrambling to take control of its waterworks.
Jakarta’s water utility was privatized 20 years ago in the last years of the Suharto military dictatorship, when the former president awarded contracts to two joint ventures, one of which included his son’s company.
The coalition won its case in the Jakarta District Court in 2015, but it took two more years for the Supreme Court to uphold its constitutionality.
The prevalence of such wells is one reason Jakarta is one of the fastest-sinking cities in the world.
Thames Water partnered with Suharto’s son’s company.
But Suharto did not award those contracts in a vacuum. The World Bank had been strongly encouraging the government to privatize its utilities at the time.