East Kalimantan rejects Kalija project

The provincial administration of East Kalimantan and all regencies in the province have rejected the Kalija mega project that aims to build a giant pipeline to channel gas from the province to Central Java, citing that the province is in deficit of energy and the project will only bring benefits to people in Java, Kompas reported on Saturday.

?We still don?t have enough electricity and oil fuels. East Kalimantan is in the phase of developing chemicals and condensate-based industries and all these needs energy such as gas,? the province?s Head of Energy and Mining Office Amrullah was quoted as saying on Friday.

The project was officially launched on March 14 by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The project will be divided into phases, namely Phase I, where a 207 km pipeline will be built from Kepodang field offshore Central Java to the Tambak Lorok power plant in Semarang, the capital of the province; Phase II, where a 1,200 km pipeline will be built from East Kalimantan to connect with the Kepodang-Tambak pipeline.

He regretted the Central Government?s approval of the project, citing that the Central Government has launched the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development (MP3EI) program which aims to speed up the economic growth of areas outside Java, including in East Kalimantan. In East Kalimantan, as part of the MP3EI program, several projects will be or are being developed including the fifth fertilizer plant of PT Pupuk Kaltim, an industrial estate and international port in Maloy, East Kutai regency.

?All these projects need gas. Where will be gas for Kalija sourced from?? he asked (*)