Bukit Asam to increase ownership in BATR to 30%
Tuesday, August 28 2012 - 01:05 AM WIB
The company?s corporate secretary Hananto Budi Laksono said in Jakarta recently that the ownership in BATR would be increased in line with the revision in the status of the company?s mining permit in the Asam Banko Tengah mining area in South Sumatra.
The development of the Asam Banko Tengah mine is part the BATR?s project to build a coal railway from the mining area to the Tarahan coal terminal in Lampung. Currently Rajawali Group has a 90 percent stake in BATR and PTBA holds the remaining 10 percent. The state coal miner, however, has an option to increase its ownership to 30 percent.
BATR?s railway project, which is scheduled for commercial operation in 2014, will have a capacity to transport 25 million tons of coal. At present, PTBA and state owned railway operator PTKA plans to increase the capacity of the existing coal railway track to 22.7 million tons. With the operation of BATR?s railway project, PTBA will be able to transport 47 million of coal through the Tarahan coal terminal in Lampung.
PTBA also teams up with Rajawali Group to develop the Asam Banko Tengah mine. The two companies have established joint venture company PT Bukit Asam Banko to develop and operate the coal mine. PTBA has a 65 percent stake in the joint venture, Rajawali holds the remaining 35 percent. But the joint venture could not carry out the coal mine operation because the mining permit is issued on the behalf of PTBA.
The government is revising the mining permit so that the joint venture will hold the mining right in the Asam Banko Tengah mining area. (*)