Wika, Bara Selaras consortium to start 1st coal shipment this week

Coal trading firm PT Wika Intrade Energi (WIE), a unit of Indonesian listed engineering contractor PT Wijaya Karya Tbk, will start its first shipment this week to China under 1-year contract with Chinese firm STIG Jaingshu Light and Textile.

The company?s operational director Agung Yunanto told Petromindo.Com on Wednesday that the shipment will be carried out using handymax vessel. ?This shipment is just a trial to consider using a bigger vessel such as panamax type in the future,? he said.

The coal is sourced from various South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan coal miners, he said, without naming the miners. He said that WIE is collecting the coal in a consortium with PT. Baja Selaras Mandiri and PT. Sarana Cipta Intinusa. ?Baja Selaras Mandiri is making direct contact with the coal miners,? he added.

Under the one-year contract with the Chinese firm, the consortium, which call itself "bwins", should supply 2-2.5 million of coal per year. The contract could be extend for another 2 to 3 years to supply around 5 million tons of coal per annum. (giok)