Bengkulu books US$3.5m from coal

BENGKULU, Bengkulu: Bengkulu province has booked US$3.5 million from coal exports up to July 2003, a senior official said.

"Bengkulu's coal exports has so far succeeded in meeting the demand of the Malaysian market," head of the provincial trade and industry office Zainal Jambak said on Saturday.

However, he said the 2002-2003 export volume of coal from the province showed a declining trend because of transportation woes and because many mining companies in the province had stopped producing the commodity.

The province recorded an export volume of 725,476 tons of coal in 2000, which fell to 457,390 tons in 2001 and to 446,000 tons in 2002.

The volume dropped sharply this year, reaching only 177,089 tons from January to July.

"The silting of the harbor on Bai Island ... might have hampered the shipment of coal to destination countries," Zainal said.

Only ships weighing in at 30,000 dead weight tons are permitted to anchor in the harbor, while coal carriers are generally much heavier.

Data at the trade and industry office shows that the province has 7.3 million tons of coal deposits from a 59,590 hectare plot in North Bengkulu district and a 28,771 hectare plot in South Bengkulu district. -- Antara