CNG saves 'illegal' gas station

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta administration made an abrupt about-face on its earlier policy to relocate fuel stations occupying green areas across the city, allowing them to remain operational with one condition: They must make available environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) to consumers.

"Should they (fuel station owners) be willing to supply CNG to support the city's program this year, why don't we just let them be?" remarked Assistant to the City Secretary for Development Affairs, Hari Sandjojo.

"We could not simply close them down since they have invested huge amounts of money to build the stations ... we must thus prepare 'an exit scenario'."

Sutiyoso's administration requires that all vehicles operating in the city, including public transport and government vehicles, police and military, switch from gasoline or diesel fuel to CNG as part of the effort to reduce Jakarta's air pollution.

The city has 17 stations selling CNG fuel, but only three of them are currently operational due to low demand.

Separately, City Mining Agency head Peni Susanti confirmed Hari's statement that the administration had withdrawn its decision to close down gas stations occupying the green zones.

"We want a win-win solution. We don't want a situation where our policy to close down or relocate stations backfires sometime in the future," said Peni, who heads the agency in charge of issuing operational permits for fuel stations.

Last month, the administration revealed plans to relocate the 32 gas stations as their presence on green zones violates Bylaw No. 11/1988 on public order.

According to the bylaw, no buildings, including gas stations, are allowed to occupy green areas and greenbelts, which function as the city's lungs and water catchment areas.

Among the gas stations are those located on Jl. Lapangan Ros in South Jakarta, around the Semanggi traffic cloverleaf, and the median strip between Jl. Gajah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk, in Central Jakarta.

Both had said previously that the administration would not issue new permits to companies that wish to build gas stations in green areas and that it would not extend their operational licenses.

The operational permits for these gas stations were issued by former governor Ali Sadikin during his tenure in the 1970s.

Hari acknowledged that several top figures, like Taufik Kiemas, husband of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, were among those who own the stations, but he denied that this was the reason why the administration had back stepped on this issue.