PTBA, KAI agree on new coal transportation tariff

State-owned coal miner PT Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) and state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) have agreed on a new tariff on coal transportation from South Sumatra to Lampung, from where the item will be shipped to Suralaya power plant in Banten, according to a well-placed government official.

Under the new agreement, KAI will charge the coal producer Rp37,000 (US$=Rp 9,200) for each ton of coal transported from BA?s coal mining site in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra, to Tarahan in Lampung, the deputy to the state minister of state enterprises, Roes Ariawijaya, said on Wednesday.

PTBA and KAI agreed however that the Rp37,000 tariff would be effective only if the railway operator transports 8.5 million tons of coal from South Sumatra to Lampung annually. The tariff will be lowered if less coal is transported, and the other way around, Roes told reporters, according to Detik.Com news website.

Negotiations between the two companies on the coal transportation tariff had been slow as BA had insisted that the tariff be raised to no more than Rp 35,000, compared with the Rp45,000 demanded by KAI. Currently, the railway company charges PTBA Rp25,000-Rp29,500 per ton.

The Suralaya power plant is operated by Indonesia Power, a power producing firm fully owned by state electricity company PLN.

So far, PTBA has been the main supplier of coal for the power plant. (*)