Unocal allocates Rp 8 billion to develop Marangkayu

American oil and gas company Unocal Indonesia Company admitted that it had not yet conducted "physical construction" to help the villagers of Marangkayu, Rapak Lama and Terusan in Kutai area, East Kalimantan but it said it had allocated Rp 8 billion (US$1= Rp 8,295) to help develop the villages, Kaltim Post reported.

"It is true that (the construction) has not yet started physically. (We are) in the process of building the infrastructure gradually. We hope to realize the development assistance as soon as possible," company spokesman Samsulistyo said on Thursday.

He was commenting earlier statements by the Institute of People Concerned with Environment/the Organization of Oil and Gas Victims that the company had not yet made any contribution to the promotion of the welfare of the villagers living around its operation area.

Head of the NGO Buherah dismissed the plan of the Kutai councilors to visit the villages to inspect the result of the community development programs of Unocal, saying the councilors would see nothing there because Unocal had not done anything in the villages.

The paper reported that during a hearing with the regency's council, Unocal claimed that it had spent tens of millions of dollars to help the people around its operational sites over the past five years. (*)