Five consultancy companies bid to audit Inti Indorayon
Five consultancy companies bid to audit Inti Indorayon
JAKARTA (JP): Five foreign consultancy companies have been
short-listed by the government in the tender to conduct an
environmental audit of PT Inti Indorayon Utama Tbk, a senior
official at the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Thursday.
The government is expected to announce its selection next
month, Gatot Ibnu Santosa, the director-general of chemical
industry at the ministry, said on the sidelines of the
Responsible Care Indonesia seminar and workshop.
The publicly listed pulp and paper company which has a major
operation near Lake Toba in Porsea, North Sumatra, was ordered by
President B.J. Habibie to suspend its operation in March pending
the outcome of an independent environmental audit.
Gatot said the five remaining bidders came from Germany, the
United States, Finland and Australia.
They have been asked to submit their technical proposals, he
said.
The audit must be concluded within six months, including one
month to receive verification of the audit results from the
Environmental Impact Management Agency, he said.
Gatot said, however, that for the audit to be conclusive,
Indorayon must be allowed to resume full operation in order to
obtain samples of its waste, which would then be used to
determine whether the company was damaging the environment.
Because Indorayon is a foreign investment company, the audit
results will be sent to the Investment Coordinating Board, which
in turn will issue its recommendation to the President.
The company became the target of demonstrations in July of
last year by residents living near Lake Toba who were opposed to
its operation.
They claimed the pulp and paper company damaged the
environment and presented a health hazard to residents.
Environmental organizations said the company caused the water
level of Lake Toba to decrease and harmed the forest in the area.
The House of Representatives ordered the company in July of
last year to suspend its operation pending an audit on the
environmental impact of its activities.
The company resumed operations in November, supposedly to
allow the environmental audit to take place.
The audit, however, was called off and demonstrations turned
ugly when protesters clashed with company employees fearful of
losing their jobs.
The violence forced Habibie in March to completely suspend the
company's operations. Trading in Indorayon shares was suspended
on the Jakarta Stock Exchange following the President's ruling.
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