More fuel stations to be built for Jakarta fishermen

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Small-scale fishermen will soon be able to procure fuel for their boats at the official price as the city administration has plans to build three fuel stations and a bunker for fishermen this year in cooperation with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and state-owned oil company Pertamina.

Fishermen used to buy diesel fuel at higher prices as they had to bear the transportation costs from the nearest filling station in Muara Angke, North Jakarta, to their boats moored some one kilometer westward in the Kali Adem area.

"Fishermen will be able to buy fuel for their boats at the official price as Pertamina is willing to bear the transportation cost," Husni Manggabarani of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries told reporters on Friday.

Husni held a meeting with Governor Sutiyoso on Friday to discuss the plan of setting up the four fuel stations for small- scale fishermen.

Currently, there is already a fuel station in Muara Angke, North Jakarta geared to serve bigger-scale fishermen, while the ministry just opened a fuel station for small-scale fishermen last month near Kali Adem.

The three fuel stations will be built along the North Jakarta coastline at Kamal Muara, Cilincing and Kali Baru, while the fuel bunker will be built on Pramuka Island in Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Islands) regency.

The three stations will have a minimum capacity of 5,000 liters, while the fuel bunker will have a capacity of some 20,000 liters.

The bunker on Pramuka Island is intended to serve as a fuel distribution center for the Kepulauan Seribu regency.

Meanwhile, Sutiyoso said the city administration was urging the fishermen to unite themselves in groups and cooperatives to run the fuel stations.

"The fishermen will be asked their opinion on which locations are best suited for their needs before we start building the fuel stations," he said after the meeting.

Husni, director general of sea fisheries at the ministry, said that with the cooperatives, the small-scale or traditional fishermen, who are determined by a boat size of less than 30 Gross Tons (GT), would receive more benefits than just being able to buy fuel at the official price.

"The fishermen will be able to get the fuel anytime as the supply is guaranteed by Pertamina. They will also have the opportunity to manage the fuel stations through fishermen's cooperatives," he said.

"Since the fuel stations are managed by the fishermen themselves, they will be able to pay for the fuel in credit instead of in cash."

The ministry is planning to set up 1,260 filling stations nationwide at a total cost of more than Rp 25 billion (US$2.7 million) taken from the state budget.

"The actual number, however, could exceed the initial estimate as many regional administrations have expressed interest in building fuel stations from their own budget," said Husni.

Sutiyoso said he had appointed head of the Jakarta Husbandry, Fishing and Maritime Agency, Muhammad Rahardjo as coordinator to handle cooperation between the ministry and Pertamina.

Rahardjo, however, failed to provide any detailed information on the program saying he had left all the data in his office.

He said he forgot the approximate number of small-scale fishermen in the city and their daily fuel requirements.