Bukit Asam to raise output to 13.5m tons

JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned coal mining company PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam will soon open four mines at Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra to supply the three new units (V, VI and VII) at the Suralaya coal-fired power station in West Java.

The company's president, R.A. Sunardi, said that the coal demand of the power station will reach 6.8 million tons after the completion of the three new units in 1997.

"We have developed the four new mines in anticipation of the larger volume of coal required by the Suralaya power station," Sunardi was quoted on Sunday by Antara as saying.

He said that the four new mines are located at Banko Barat, Muara Tiga Besar Selatan, Muara Tiga Besar Utara and Bukit Kendi, all in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra.

He added that the four new mines would expand Bukit Asam's coal production capacity from 6.7 million tons at present to 13.5 million tons a year in 1998.

"To support the new mines, we are also expanding the railway coal carrying capacity from Tanjung Enim to the coal terminal at Tarahan," he said.

The handling capacity of the Tarahan terminal on the southern tip of Sumatra is also being expanded from 5.5 million tons to 12 million tons a year, he said.

Sunardi said Bukit Asam also would increase its coal exports which last year amounted only to between 1.1 million tons and 2.7 million tons a year.

He said Indonesia exported 28 million tons out of its total coal output of 35 million tons last year.

"But the international market demand for coal has been increasing and is projected to reach 434 million tons in 1998. This is a good chance for us to expand our exports," Sunardi added.

Bukit Asam, according to him, is well positioned to expand its exports because its concession area holds an estimated 5.5 billion tons of proven reserves. (04)