Synco Global appointed to dredge Batanghari river to boost coal output

The Jambi provincial administration has made various efforts, includig planning to dredge the Batanghari river, the main transportation network in the province, to increase the province's coal coal production.

The province has appointed PT Synco Global to carry out the dredging works on the Batanghari river, according the province's energy and mineral resources office head Irmansyah Rachman.

?The Environmental Impact Analysis (AMDAL) study as well as the information campaign on the project are now in progress,? he told Petromindo.com recently.

?We hope to start the project very soon,? he added without elaborating.

Irmansyah said that the province produced a paltry 3.8 million tonnes of coal in 2010, compared with its estimated resources of around 3 billion tonnes, and its preserved resources of around one billion tonnes.

The main factor behind the slow growth of the province's coal production is the fact that most of its coal mines are located far from port facilities while miners have not maximally used river for transportation. The miners transport their coal from mines to the nearest port through public roads. The province is known to have mamy rivers but lack road transportation network.

Jambi?s coal is categorized as low-rank type.

To incrase the province's coal production and exports, the provincial government has made several plans, including revitalizing the Batanghari river and constructing special road facilities to transport coal and other plantation products such as Crude Palm Oil (CPO). (denny)