Investment plans worth US$14 billion in mining sector delayed

Investment plans worth between US$12 billion and $14 billion in mining sector can not be realized this year due to uncertainty in the mining regulations, Investor Daily reported on Monday.

Speaking during a seminar in Jakarta last week, Bambang Setiawan, the director general of mineral, coal and geothermal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said that these investment plans were delayed because of overlapping licensing policy at provincial administration and central government levels.

The uncertainty in licensing regulations had also resulted in the increase in number of illegal mining activities, he said, adding that thousands of mining concessions could not also be monitored because it is not clear whether they are overseen by the provincial administrations or by the central government.

?All the licensing procedures in mining activities should be reviewed if we want to attract new investment in the future,? he added. (*)