Alternative site possible for C. Java cement project
Alternative site possible for C. Java cement project
JAKARTA (JP): The government has proposed an alternative site
for a cement plant to be built by PT Eraska Semen Indonesia in
Central Java if a study proves the present site does not meet
feasibility demands.
Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo told reporters
yesterday that the site proposed by Eraska Semen in Juwengan
district in Boyolali regency may have to be changed to a location
30 kilometers north of the present site in a district called
Sukolilo.
He said that he has not yet received an official report from
the expert team which is responsible for the feasibility study.
"If the study says that the location is not suitable for the
plant, due to a lack of water sources or unfavorable social
conditions, an alternative site must be chosen," he said.
He said that a number of people living in the area were
previously relocated from Kedungombo, a village flooded to make
way for a huge irrigation dam.
Eraska Semen recently obtained the necessary license from the
Investment Coordinating Board to build a cement plant with an
annual production capacity of 700,000 tons. The plant is expected
to start commercial production in 1997.
Djamaludin has stipulated, however, that a feasibility study
must be made to avoid negative impacts on the surrounding
villages and the proposed site, which currently serves as a water
catchment area.
Alternative
He stressed that any alternative site would have to be on
scarcely populated infertile land.
"The investors must be willing to buy the land at a reasonable
price and build the necessary infrastructure at the location. The
plant must not be built at the expense of the environment and the
local people for the company's own benefit," he said.
Djamaludin said, however, that "in principle" he did not
reject the plan. "I am just seeking alternatives."
Eraska Semen had threatened to quit the project if the
government refused to issue approval to clear a teak forest to
make way for the plant. In exchange for the cleared area, Eraska
Semen offered the ministry a 1,200-hectare plot of land.
Djamaludin turned down the offer, saying that under existing
government regulations the substitute land must be at least three
times the size of the displaced forest.
He said that approval for the use of forested areas in Java
for infrastructure and public facilities must be given by the
President.
The substitute plot must be twice the size of the original
area for military and state industrial projects and three times
the size for other purposes.
Forests currently cover only 19 percent of Java, far below the
30 percent which is considered a healthy level. (pwn)