Kideco vows to upgrade environmental-protection program

After being reprimanded by the local administration, coal mining company Kideco Jaya Agung finally promised to upgrade its environmental-protection program in line with the expansion of production activities at its coal mine in Pasir regency, East Kalimantan , local daily Kaltim Post reported Friday.

The company has recently increased its annual output to 10 million tons from 7.5 million tons permitted under its environmental documents.

The paper said the regency administration recently sent a team to check out the operation of the company.

The team found that the existing environmental programs implemented by the company was no longer able to accommodate the increase in the production.

The team thus asked the company to upgrade its environmental program.

The paper quoted the regency?s officials as saying that the company has promised to renew its environmental impact analysis study and enlarge the capacity of its water treatment plant.

Kideco Jaya Agung is wholly-owned by South Korean firm Samtan Co. Ltd. (*)