Berau Coal to raise output to 10 million tons

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Coal producer PT Berau Coal is planning to raise its output by 10 percent this year to 10 million tons to meet higher domestic and international demand.

The company's president director Jeffrey Mulyono said on Monday that gross revenues were expected to rise accordingly to between US$230 million and $240 million.

"To reach our target, we will boost efficiency and invest a little more to increase productivity," he said.

The company booked a gross revenue of $205 million last year on the back of higher prices and bigger output volume. Coal production last year went up 18 percent to 9.1 million tons from 7.7 million tons in the previous year.

Berau, the appointed contractor for a concession area of 1,200 square kilometers in East Kalimantan, uses 30 percent of its output to supply fuel for Paiton power plants in East Java and Suralaya power plant in West Java.

The company also plans to submit bids in a tender to supply coal for a new power plant in Cilacap, Central Java, later this month.

"For the first phase, we will bid only for 500,000 tons," Freddy explained.

Berau exports approximately 70 percent of its coal output to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand.

The company is owned in majority by PT Armadian Tritunggal while Japanese trading company Nissho Iwai Corporation owns a minority stake.