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)