Bukit Sunur feared of pulling out coal mining operations from Bengkulu

Coal mining firm PT Bukit Sunur could pull out from Bengkulu province in southern Sumatra if local authorities keep forcing it to pay tax and royalty arrears which have amounted to no less than US$1.7 million, according to Bengkulu governor Hasan Zen.

The governor told a visiting team of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Monday that Bukit Sunur currently did not have enough funds to pay the tax and royalty arrears to the Bengkulu administration.

?Actually, I have again and again asked the firm to pay the arrears. But, they did not heed my warnings because they did not have enough funds to pay the arrears,? Hasan said in his meeting with the legislators who were from the House commission VIII in charge of energy and mineral resources. They were on a three-day visit to Bengkulu.

Hasan admitted he had no idea about proper action he could take against Bukit Sunur which is majority owned by business tycoon Sudwikatmono, a relative of former authoritarian President Soeharto.

The House members had earlier asked the governor to take strict measures against Bukit Sunur because it had neglected to pay taxes and royalties to the local administration over the past several years. The US$1.7 million was from the 1998-1999 period alone.

Bukit Sunur, which is the largest coal mining company in Bengkulu, managed to produce only 460,000 tons of coal in 2001, down from the 600,000 tons target.

The company however had planned to boost production to 800,000 tons in 2002.

A significant portion of Bukit Sunur?s coal has gone to Malaysia and India. (godang)