Govt lures private investors to build gas refill stations

The government is preparing new business schemes to help attract private investors to develop more gas refill stations in the country, said Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources IGN Wiratmaja Puja in a statement issued by the ministry Thursday.

Wiratmaja said that the new schemes aim to improve margins or investment rate of returns of the private investors. He added that another scheme is to push private investors to team up with local administration-owned companies (BUMDs) in the project, under which the BUMDs will be in charge in acquiring the land so that investment cost can be lower, such as the one which has been implemented in Prabumulih, South Sumatra.

Wiratmaja said that private investors have been reluctant in developing gas refill stations due to the slim margins.

He said that increasing gas price will be the last option as the government is determined to set gas price for transportation sector at 50-60 percent of the Premium brand fuel. Gas price for transportation currently stands at Rp 3,100 per liter of Premium fuel.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak