Govt ready to ban leaded fuel in July

Govt ready to ban leaded fuel in July

JAKARTA (JP): The government will proceed with its plan to ban
the sale of leaded gasoline in the capital beginning on July 1,
2001, State Minister of the Environment Sonny Keraf said on
Monday.

He said a campaign to inform people of the ban would be
launched on June 5, a date that was chosen in observance of
International Environment Day.

"The plan to remove leaded fuel (from the capital) will be
stipulated in a presidential decree that is now still being
discussed," Sonny said during a hearing with House of
Representatives Commission VIII for the environment and science
and technology affairs.

Sonny said in January that the ban on leaded fuel sales would
be delayed to 2003 because of the large number of vehicles in
Greater Jakarta that used leaded fuel.

But after Sonny made this announcement, state-own oil and gas
company Pertamina announced it was ready to supply unleaded
gasoline to the capital by April 1.

According to Sonny, the program to remove leaded gasoline from
Jakarta was part of the deal between the Indonesian government
and the International Monetary Fund signed in January last year.

"Along with the guarantee about when we will implement the ban
on leaded gasoline, we also are drafting a government regulation
on the threshold value of motorized vehicle exhaust, or the
quality standard of the emissions," Sonny said as quoted by
Antara.

Sonny said the effort to remove leaded fuel would be followed
by an increase in the supply of auto gas (BBG), which is more
environmentally friendly.

"Gas will be initially used for public transportation, such as
city buses. BBG is very important in our efforts to realize the
'Blue Sky Program,'" he said, referring to an environmental
conservation program that was launched in Indonesia in 1996.

Right now, Sonny added, the priority of the program was to
control air pollution in several big cities across the country,
in particular Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya. (hdn)