Tarakan administration refuses coal investment
Saturday, April 28 2001 - 04:30 AM WIB
The Tarakan mayoralty, East Kalimantan, has refused billions of rupiah coal investment proposal, contending that the administration prioritizes environmental preservation than investment, Kompas daily reported on Saturday.
Tarakan Mayor Yusuf SK on Friday turned down a proposal by PT Bina Alam Indah Kreasindo (BAIK) to exploit for coal in its concession areas under the mayoralty control.
"This rejection has been consulted with the local legislative council and with non-governmental organizations," Yusuf said.
Two years ago, PT BAIK secured a coal exploration license from Bulungan regent. At that time, Tarakan was an administrative town under the control of the Bulungan regency. But now, Tarakan has been separated from Bulungan and has a new status as the mayoralty.
And six months ago, PT BAIK filed an exploitation proposal to the Tarakan mayoralty.
"I myself is surprised that there are coal reserves in Tarakan," Yusuf said.
According to a survey by PT BAIK, Tarakan has a big coal deposit of more than 100 million tons, that would be enough for 20 years of mining activities.
Based on the proposal, the Tarakan mayoralty would get a fee of US$1.25 million per 3 million tons of coal produced from the mayoralty areas.
Yusuf then asked PT BAIK to produce environmental impact analysis report. After getting the report, Yusuf said, the mayoralty presented copies of the report to the local legislative council and non-governmental organizations to be reviewed. And it was then decided that the proposal must be turned down.
"This is evident that local autonomy does not make local administrations to act as they like. If there is no autonomy, I believe this proposal would have been approved," he said.
The mayoralty's refusal to grant mining license to PT BAIK is based on the consideration that Tarakan is an island mayoralty, with a total area of 264 square kilometers. If the island is mined for coal, it would result in the reduction of the island altitude from the sea level, and eventually it would allow parts of the island to sink gradually. (*)