~For Advertorial --- PT Inco: Sunday, Sept. 4, 2008

~For Advertorial --- PT Inco: Sunday, Sept. 4, 2008

PT Inco empowers locals through community development programs

People living near natural-resource-based companies, including
mining firms, are often hopeful of being able to work at the
company to improve their standard of living.

Most companies, however, set high standards for recruitment
requirements.

Consequently, many local job seekers remain unemployed due to
their lack of skills, competency and knowledge.

Publicly listed PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco), a
leading producer of nickel in matte that operates in Sorowako,
South Sulawesi, is fully aware that many young people living near
its operation site are not ready to work. Therefore, in
cooperation with the regional government of East Luwu, Inco has
initiated an industrial training program (PPI) for the local
community as part of its long-term commitment to empower locals
through education and human resources development programs.

The PPI is aimed at preparing locals, in particular working-
age people, to be a well-prepared workforce with technical skills
and personalities that meet the industrial standards.

At least 140 senior high school graduates from Nuha, Towuti
and Malili and other sub-districts close to Sorowako are taking
part in the program. The two-year program, which commenced in
October 2004, does not only provide training and tutorials on
basic and technical knowledge, such as safety, first aid, mining
and process plant overview from experienced instructors, but also
on mentality and attitude aspects.

Graduates of the program are expected to have honed their
technical skills and be mentally prepared for the industrial
world they stand on the brink on. Thus, with their improved
skills and tougher attitudes, graduates have a greater chance of
securing employment.

The PPI is one of many community development (CD) programs run
by Inco to coincide with the company's corporate social
responsibility (CSR) principles. The principles require the
company to take part in improving the welfare of locals and
protecting the environment to ensure the sustainability of its
operation.

Inco, which started operation over 37 years ago, has designed
and implemented numerous CD programs. In its earlier years of
operation, the company's CD program focused on providing funds
for the construction of infrastructure, such as roads, an airport
and seaport and water and sewage treatment facilities.

However, once the infrastructure and public facilities were in
place, PT Inco began to focus its CD programs on education and
human-resource development given the importance of skilled
residents for the long-term goal of the company. The programs
include the provision of scholarships and research funds for
students of Hasanuddin University, Makassar under the Cooperative
Education Program (Coop). The program, which commenced in 1999,
allows students to conduct research on the mining industry,
providing an opportunity for them to gain experience and
knowledge of the mining industry.

The program has been of great benefit to locals, particularly
young people, as more locals are employed at Inco. Dozens of
unskilled young people have now become employees with highly
developed skills, competency and a sense of discipline that meet
international mining standard requirements. To date, around 3,400
people work at Inco, of which about 75 percent are residents
living near its operation site.

As most of the residents living near Inco's operation site are
farmers, Inco's people empowerment program also focuses on
developing local farmers' skills by providing training on how to
boost crop production. In addition to training, Inco also
provides agricultural equipment, such as hand-tractors,
fertilizers and superior seedlings.

Apart from education-related programs, Inco has also conducted
health programs in a sustainable manner as improved welfare also
means healthy living. The health programs emphasize the
accessibility of locals to quality health care because many
people living near the operation site cannot afford to pay for
health care.

Inco offers free medical examinations and treatment to all
Indonesian residents of Sorowako experiencing financial
hardships. Others receive a discount of 23 to 75 percent on
health care costs.

Under health programs, PT Inco, in cooperation with the health
agency of the regional government of East Luwu, has also built a
"Puskesmas Plus" -- an extended community health center -- in
Sorowako and in the district of Towuti. The "plus" side of these
community health centers lies in their extra facilities such as
treatment rooms, emergency units, laboratories, drugstores, and
the periodic visits of specialists like internists, dentists and
pediatricians.

PT Inco also sees conserving local culture and tradition as a
significant aspect because the company respects the existing
culture and pluralism although it has no direct relationship with
business operation. Through culture-related CD programs, the
company ensures that its operation does not pose a threat to the
existing culture and traditions.

PT Inco, for instance, has provided funds for the conservation
of culture representing local ethnic groups, namely Padoe,
Karunsie and Tambee. The company also backs local art and
cultural activities, such as the Padungku celebration or the
harvest festival, bamboo music and publishing local folk tales.

While efforts to reduce the social impact of the company and
to empower locals continue, PT Inco is also committed to
protecting the environment to ensure that its natural resources
can be enjoyed by future generations.

Although its contract of work (COW) will run through 2025, PT
Inco has started with its ex-mining land reclamation projects to
ensure that land rehabilitation programs run successfully when
the company stops operation.

Inco conducts regreening and tree-replanting projects on
reclaimed land. The projects have been conducted in cooperation
with Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar and the Bioteknology
Laboratory of the Bogor Institute of Technology. Of the company's
844.2 hectares of remaining open pit mine, 225.1 hectares have
been revegetated through the rehabilitated programs of June,
2005.

Inco signed the contract of work (CoW) with the government in
1968 for 30 years and was extended from 1996 to 2025. The COW
covers over 218,000 hectares of land in South Sulawesi, Central
Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi.

Slowly but surely, many locals living near PT Inco's operation
sites have changed their attitudes toward job opportunities
thanks to the company's long-term education and people
empowerment programs. More locals are aware that having more job
opportunities and being self-reliant are better options than
relying on Inco in regard to job opportunities.

Thus, with CSR principles materialized in CD programs, Inco
has proved that its business operation does not only benefit
shareholders and the government but also locals.