At first sight it appears to be a boy's scout camp, hidden in the forests of Sumatra. But it only takes a 50-meter stroll behind the camp to realize that the young people who have gathered there from the surrounding villages are not simply nature lovers enjoying their time in the forest, because there is nothing left of the forest. Destroying the forest was like creating a desert.

Total sales of motorcycles in the country will likely increase from 4.4 million last year to 4.8 million this year and to about 5.2 million to 5.4 million next year, according to an executive. "Indonesia, with a per capita income of US$1,600, will continue to see increased sales of motorcycles until the per capita income reaches $3,000," president of the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI) Gunadi Sindhuwinata said on the sidelines of a seminar Monday.

A year isn't much in the life of a nation. But in the marketplace, it can be a lifetime. In the telecommunications market in Indonesia much has happened in the last 12 months -- and will continue to happen -- to the advantage of the consumer. In the borderless world of the electronic age, it will help increase the competitive capability of the workforce among its Asian neighbors.

Government fuel subsidies have hampered the development of the country's renewable energy sector, a minister said Monday. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said at the 2007 World Renewable Energy Regional Congress and Exhibition that growth in Indonesia's renewable energy sector would remain slow as long as fuel subsidies existed.

The government plans to hold a tender for 11 toll road projects worth around Rp23 trillion ($2.53 billion) next year in a bid to boost economic growth, a public works ministry official said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Hisnu Pawenang, head of the toll road regulatory body, said the government would offer 350 km of toll road projects in provinces including West Java, East Java, North Sumatra, South Sumatera, Riau, Bali and North Sulawesi.

Malaysian developer and leisure firm Landmarks Holdings is planning to invest a total of 4 billion ringgit ($1.20 billion) in a resort on Indonesia's Bintan island, The Edge financial daily said on Friday, citing a top company official, Reuters reported. Landmarks' chief operating officer Lim Boon Soon said there were no plans for gambling facilities at the resort.

Tire maker PT Bridgestone Tire Indonesia said it will make new investment of Rp1.2 trillion ($133 million) to expand its production capacity over the next three years, Asia Pulse reported on Friday (2/11/07). The production capacity of the company's factories in Karawang, West Java, will be expanded to 32,000 from 22,000 units a year at present, its sales department manager John Arsyad said. The subsidiary of Japan's Bridgestone Corp.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government needs to spur energy diversification in an effort to anticipate various energy problems in the future, House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Agung Laksono said here on Monday. He said energy problems should be anticipated, especially in relation with its retrenchment following the hikes in the world crude oil price.