Leaded fuel ban unlikely before crisis ends

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Environment Sonny Keraf indicated on Monday that the switch to unleaded fuel would be applicable only after the prolonged economic crisis is over.

"It's difficult to enforce the use of unleaded fuel nationwide because of economic constraints.

"We need to wait for the economic recovery before we can expand the capacity of our unleaded fuel production," he told reporters during his visit to an automobile repair shop which provides a free vehicle emission check in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

"The Balongan fuel refinery plant in Indramayu, West Java, produces 30 percent of our national consumption of unleaded fuel, which is just enough to supply the Greater Jakarta area," he said.

The government had set Jan. 1, 2000 for the capital to be free of leaded fuel, and 2003 for the nation.

The visit was held in conjunction with the commemoration of Earth Day on April 22. Deputy Governor for Development Affairs Budihardjo Sukmadi, head of City Environmental Impact Management Agency Aboejoewono Aboeprajitno, City Council speaker Edy Waluyo, and officials from Swisscontact, a Swiss-based international environmental agency, were also part of the group.

The program to check emission levels of vehicles is conducted by the city administration in cooperation with Swisscontact. There are 117 stations participating in the program, which started April 17 and runs until May 14.

Sonny took the opportunity to have his new Volvo sedan checked, and the reading was still below the maximum standard.

The maximum standard emission level set by city administration for vehicles using gasoline is 4.5 percent carbon monoxide, 11 percent carbon dioxide, 2 percent oxygen and 1,200 ppm (parts per million) hydrocarbon.

The city administration will require emission-free certificates from residents who want to obtain vehicle documents.

"The authorized institutions which will check vehicles are automobile repair shops. They have the equipment and the manpower," said Aboejoewono.

"We'll also build an online computer system linking the stations to the city administration for this purpose," he added.

It is estimated that there are some two million private cars in the city. In total, some 300 stations are needed to check cars.

Each station will be equipped with a computerized gauge which will display the vehicles' emission levels automatically. The stations and operators are required to have a certificate before they are allowed to check cars.

Sonny said, however, that checking vehicles' emission levels was not the only way to ensure clean air in the country.

"This program alone will not be enough to ensure clean air. The government still has a lot to do, such as limiting the age of vehicles running on the streets, and producing unleaded fuel," he said.

Although the service is a pilot project, vehicle emission tests have proven to be promising business for repair shop owners.

"We have had at least ten new customers a day since the program began," the owner of the Nawilis repair shop on Jl. Tanah Abang I, Central Jakarta, Peter Nawilis, told The Jakarta Post during the minister's visit.

"Most new customers only ask for the free emission check, but at least they have become more familiar with my repair shop," he added.

"And I'm willing to pay any amount of money to get the vehicle emission check certificate as it will help boost my business."

A Swisscontact official, Heru, said 90 percent of the cars checked were found to emit a high content of harmful gas because of errors in their engines' tune-up.

"Most times, we don't have to make major repairs, but just calibrate the carburetor's setting. It's simple, isn't it? But it profoundly affects engine performance and air quality," he said.

"Routine inspection and maintenance are also important for maintaining the engine's condition," he added. (09/nvn)