Hutama Karya Open to Using Buton Asphalt

The core point from Hutama Karya is that for projects, it is very open to using Asbuton. Jakarta (ANTARA) - PT Hutama Karya (Persero) is open to the use of Buton Asphalt or Asbuton in its projects to reduce dependence on imported asphalt. “The core point from Hutama Karya for projects is that it is very open to using Asbuton,” said Acting Executive Vice President for Corporate Secretary of Hutama Karya, Hamdani, in his statement in Jakarta on Friday. The Ministry of Public Works (PU) itself has several times encouraged the use of Asbuton. “Indeed, the use of Asbuton has still been limited so far, but it has also been utilised several times with PU colleagues. The main point is that it is very open if Asbuton meets the specifications,” said Hamdani. For information, Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo has initiated a policy to increase the use of Buton Asphalt as part of a strategy to reduce import dependence while strengthening national infrastructure resilience. “In line with President Prabowo’s directive, we cannot fully rely on external resources, especially amid uncertain global conditions. What we have domestically must be the main strength,” said Dody. Most imported asphalt is known to be a derivative of petroleum. When oil supplies are disrupted and global prices rise due to conflicts, asphalt costs are pushed up and directly impact road development budgets. This condition makes high dependence on imports a vulnerability that needs to be reduced immediately. On the other hand, Indonesia has Buton Asphalt as an abundant natural resource with quality recognised as one of the best in the world. However, in the last five years, the utilisation of processed Asbuton has remained limited, averaging only about 4 percent of total national asphalt usage. “Currently, around 78 percent of national asphalt needs are still met by imports, from a total projected need of 1.056 million tonnes in 2024, expected to rise to 1.5 million tonnes per year. For this reason, we are pushing for regulatory policies mandating the use of processed Asbuton with a target substitution of at least 30 percent (A30) in asphalt mixtures. This policy is expected to reduce dependence on imported asphalt by around 50 percent,” said Dody. Through Asbuton substitution (A30), this policy also serves as a step to mitigate risks of price surges due to global energy volatility. The utilisation of Asbuton is positioned as a key strategy to reduce import pressures while strengthening national self-reliance. “In addition to strengthening supply resilience, this policy is projected to save state foreign exchange by up to Rp4.08 trillion per year, increase tax revenues by Rp1.6 trillion per year, and drive domestic industry strengthening through SNI fulfilment and minimum 40 percent TKDN,” said Dody.