Riau has two billion tons of coal reserves
Thursday, July 27 2000 - 04:30 AM WIB
Riau province, the country's largest oil producer, also has coal reserves of at least two billion tons in addition to other mineral resources such as sand and granite, according to Governor Saleh Djasit.
The governor said that the province had yet to fully develop the coal potential due to lack of financing, and as the result the coal production was still low at about 300,000 tons a year.
He said that the province, which contributed more than a half of the country's oil production, is also the country's sand exporter due to its close distance to Singapore, which still relies on Riau's sand for its construction activities.
In 1997/1998 fiscal year, state revenues raised by the central government reached a total of Rp 59.14 trillion, about 25 percent of the state receipt during the year.
However, the governor said that about 40 percent of the province's 4.3 million people still live under poverty as most of the natural wealth went to the central government. (*)