Palembang suffered from similar challenges as Negombo but was still able to com- plete the project in October 2010. The key difference may have been the stronger political will and leadership, particularly exhibited by the City’s mayor through- out the project. The mayor informed UNITAR and CITYNET of the key challenges faced, which were additionally confirmed via external evaluation reports, as fol- lows:
Customs/tax regulations:Since the tank was imported from Thailand, the proce- dures to obtain the correct documents for tax purposes for customs took longer than expected as they had to be filed in Jakarta. Time could have been saved if the city had done prior research on the required paperwork for imports and had better coordination with customs and tax authorities.
Weather: This was a major issue in Palembang as well. Since the country receives rain throughout the year, it was very difficult for the engineers to fix the date to start digging the ground. Soon after the city installed the tanks into the ground, the compartment holding the tanks was flooded by rainwater causing the tanks to float, as they had not been filled with wastewater yet. This caused the Eco-Tank to crack. The rainwater mixed with wastewater also had filled the hole dug to install the tanks. However, the city completed Eco-Tank repairs using public funds. Time management and efficient planning would be the solution.
Supply and quality of local technical personnel:Similar to Negombo, the city did not have a skilled engineer who was able to supervise the installation. This caused the smell from the wastewater to leak into the surrounding area resulting in com- plaints from the residents. This was particularly the case when the wastewater and rainwater filled the tank and the compartment thus making it inevitable for the engineer to pump the water out before proceeding with the repairs. However, this problem was solved with the support of an engineer from Bangkok.
