Development new master plan includes renegotiation of contracts: Hatta

The government?s new Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of the Indonesian Economic Development includes the renegotiation of mining contracts, Koran Tempo reported on Tuesday.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Radjasa said that the renegotiation is done to ensure a fair distribution of revenue between the government and foreign contractors. ?The renegotiation is important to ensure fairness for both sides, for instance, in terms of royalty,? he said.

According to the plan, the government would soon set up a special renegotiation team which consists of officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, and the Office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy.

Hatta also said that going forward, the government would ban the export of raw mining materials to push for the development of downstream sector to create greater value added for the economy. The government would set up a roadmap to realize the plan.

Meanwhile, some experts warned the government to honor the sanctity of contracts to maintain conducive investment climate particularly in the oil and gas sector as the country is struggling to increase production. (*)