Ministry to limit coal output in provinces

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources plans a new policy that would limit output in the country?s coal-producing provinces as part of efforts to help stabilize the price of the commodity.

Head of Communications, Public Information and Cooperation Bureau at the ministry Sujatmiko said on Wednesday that the ministry will coordinate with provincial administrations to draft the policy.

He said that the production limit in provinces is needed because the government?s annual coal production target has been repeatedly exceeded. For instance, coal production for last year was set at 425 million tons, but realized output was 461 million tons.

?The minister, the director general of mineral and coal and the governors will coordinate to make a regulation to determine production level (of the provinces) adjusted to the national production target,? he said.

Sujatmiko said that the new policy will be more effective once the government complete the ongoing efforts to revamp and clean up thousands of problematic IUP coal mining permits, issued by local governments in the past. He said that the country?s annual production target has often been exceeded due to uncontrollable production from the IUP miners.

Director General of Mineral and Coal Bambang Gatot Ariyono confirmed the planned new production limit policy. He suggested that this production target of 419 million tons is also likely to be exceeded. (*)