Samarinda government will sue six coal mining firms

The Samarinda Municipality of East Kalimantan plans to file a legal suit against six mining companies in the area for refusing to pay fees for the transportation of their coal through the Mahakam river, Kompas daily reported on Wednesday.

Abdul Rachman, the head of the municipality?s revenue department, said in Samarinda on Tuesday that the Samarinda administration had, up to November, last year, suffered a loss of about Rp 4 billion ($=Rp9,500) due to the refusal of the six companies to pay the fee.

He said that according to the municipality?s regulation, coal producers are required to pay a fee of Rp 1,000 for each tons of coal transported through the Mahakam river. ?The fee will be used to finance dredging activities at the river.

According to him, last year the local government spent about Rp 18 billion to carry out dredging activities in the river.

Sihombing, a manager of the Bukit Baiduri coal-mining firm, said coal producers refused to pay the fee because they had been burdened with too many payment. ?If we pay the fee for the coal transported through the Mahakam river, our production cost will increase by Rp 2 billion annually,? he said. (*)