Mining bill should include incentives for investment: IMA

The Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) has suggested that the government include in the new mining bill clauses to give incentives for mining investors operating in difficult areas, Bisnis Indonesia daily reported Friday.

IMA executive director Paul L. Courtier said that such incentives would attract more investors, both foreign and domestic investors, to invest in the country's mining sector.

"Thus, we hope that the mining bill will determine such facilities," Courtier said.

The ministry of energy and mineral resources had completed the drafting of the mining bill and it is now awaiting the presidential approval of the bill before officially submitting it to the House of Representatives for deliberations.

Coutrier explained that such facilities should be treated in a "lex specialis" nature and are subject to negotiations between the government or local administrations and investors.

From such negotiations, mining investors could expect a reduction or facilities in terms of taxes, royalties and other obligations during the exploration period.

He also suggested that the government abolish the term "contract of works" in the bill, and change it into mining license or local mining license or mining contract, that could be signed between mining investors and local administrations, following the implementation of regional autonomy.

IMA also suggested that each local administration, whose areas are rich with mineral reserves, should build their own data centers on mining potentials. The central government should help local administrations in building such data centers by delegating more data it currently controls to local administrations. (*)