Bukit Asam says no plan to dissolve Bukit Asam Bangko mining
Friday, October 7 2011 - 04:00 AM WIB
"We will not disband Bangko Bukit Asam, since it was formed before the mining law," President Director of Bukit Asam, Sukrisno, was quoted by Kontan daily as saying.
BAB was established to work on mining activities in Bangko, South Sumatra. Unfortunately, realization of the plans was hampered by the Law Number 4, 2009 on mineral and coal mining.
Under the law, the right to conduct mining activities is the owner of the IUP. In this case, the holder of IUP is PT Bukit Asam.
Since BAB is not to be dissolved, PTBA and the government are looking for a way out in order to assure that BAB becomes the manager of the mine, which was already approved during Bukit Asam?s general meeting of shareholders (AGM) in 2008.
Sukrisno said there are several options to resolve the problem, including issuing a Presidential Decree, declaring that Bukit Asam Bangko as the holder of IUP.
The board of Bukit Asam has consulted the matter with the central government. Once Bukit Asam Bangko mining permit is resolved, the Bukit Asam Transpacific Railway (BATR) project could go ahead soon after.
BATR expects to sign a loan agreement worth US$ 1.3 billion for the EPC, with four Chinese banks namely Bank of China, China Development Bank, ICBC and China Exim to finance the railway project. (*)