More diesel fuel ordered for fish port

JAKARTA (JP): The Bina Graha presidential office has requested the state-owned Pertamina gas and oil company to provide more diesel fuel for trawlers operating in Muara Baru, Jakarta, in an effort to boost the volume of fish production for export.

The Secretary for Development Control, Tuk Setyohadi told reporters after reporting to President Soeharto at Bina Graha yesterday that the price of diesel fuel to be provided should be sold for Rp 300 per liter instead of the current Rp 425, Antara reported.

Tuk said the limited supply of diesel fuel has caused trawlers, which normally sail for about a month to catch fish at sea, to line up in a long queue for four or five days.

He said the problem regarding the scarcity of diesel fuel in Muara Baru surfaced due to the fact that the status of the diesel fuel and gas station there is not clear. The station is being managed and run by the state-owned Pelabuhan Perikanan Samudra company which controls fishing activities at sea.

"I think first of all the status of the station must be clear. It should be under the control of Pertamina so that Pertamina will bear all transportation costs," Tuk said.

He said he had requested that Pertamina and Pelabuhan Perikanan Samudra immediately solve the problem by making the status of the station clear. (bas)