The city administration's plan to hand over the management of Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi to private companies met criticism from the legislative council and an environmental observer.

Deputy chairman of the city council's Commission B for development issues Nurmansjah Lubis said the city administration was hasty in opening the tender to international companies for the dump's expansion.

"It's reckless. They should have discussed it with the council first," Nurmansjah said, adding such a big tender involving city assets requires consultation with the council.

The dump extension project will use the build, operate and transfer (BOT) scheme, which entails the administration taking over the waste facility in 15 years, according to head of the Burueu of Capital Investment and Regional Monetary Management, Sukri Bey, on Thursday.

Sukri explained his agency would hold a meeting to discuss further details of the BOT concept with the World Bank and the National Planning and Development Agency on Friday.

The administration plans to hold a tender for the 2.3-hectare extension of the dump following a deadlock in the land acquisition process. The plan, however, has not been made public.

The Bekasi administration also claimed it had not heard of the expansion plan. The Bekasi city secretary, Chandra Oetama, said the Jakarta administration should involve the neighboring municipality in the discussion.

Jakarta Sanitation Agency head Eko Bharuna said the tender in Bantar Gebang dump was an investment tender, in which the future investor should bring its own capital, human resources and technology to process the waste.

"The BOT scheme means the administration takes the role of the regulator, not the operator. It will pay the company to process the city's waste," he said.

The BOT scheme is a form of project financing where a private entity manages a franchise from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct and operate for a specified period, after which ownership is transferred back to the funding entity.

Executive director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law Rino Subagyo said the extension project of Bantar Gebang dump should follow official procedures, such as an analysis of the environmental and social impacts.

He cited the case of Bojong dump in Bogor where the administration did not consider the environmental and social effects of the site. Locals opposed the plan to establish the dump in the residential area and blocked the site. The Jakarta administration aborted the plan after several clashes between residents and police guarding the site.

"Not only will the analysis prevent pollution in the future, it will also help minimize the social and cultural impact. If the analysis shows the effects are minimal, it will get a permit," Rino said, adding the administration should be transparent and involve the public in its projects.

Nurmansjah also questioned the city's decision to offer the project to international companies.