Government to develop additional household gas pipeline networks
Tuesday, May 9 2017 - 01:57 AM WIB
The government plans to develop additional household gas pipeline networks in several cities in the country to supply natural gas to 19,000 households amid strong demand for the fuel.
According to the 2017 state budget, the government plans to develop new household gas pipeline networks in 10 locations to supply natural gas to a total of 58,809 households.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan said in a statement on Monday that the government will expand this year?s target to add another 19,000 households by developing more gas pipeline networks to be funded by reallocating funds, worth about Rp 190 billion, which was initially dedicated for the development fuel storage tanks.
Jonan said that the government will instead let private companies to develop the fuel storage tanks.
He said that the government wants to develop more household gas pipeline networks in the country to help push households to convert from more expensive liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to cheaper natural gas, which in turn would also help reduce the country?s import of LPG.
The government has been developing household gas pipeline networks funded by the state budget since 2009. As per 2016, household gas pipeline networks have been developed in 26 cities in 14 provinces, serving a total of 185,991 households.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak