Observer says Euro 2 fuel plan expensive
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city administration's plan to operate a busway early next year has been criticized by an activist, saying that the plan would not be economically sound if the administration had to subsidize the diesel fuel used for buses, delivered directly from the Pertamina state oil company refinery in Balongan, West Java.
Chairman of the Environmental Task Force (ETF) Ahmad Syafrudin questioned the administration's readiness to use diesel fuel that meets Euro 2 emission standards for the busway's 60 buses.
He said that the 60 vehicles would need only about 18,000 liters of fuel per day, while a Pertamina official has revealed that the company would need to produce 30,000 liters of fuel per day to reach breakeven point.
"Can the administration afford to pay for 30,000 liters of fuel while the demand is only 18,000 liters?" he asked The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
The Rp 120 billion (US$14.12 million) busway project will use specially designed buses with doors on the right, although they will still be right-hand-drive vehicles. The buses must be operated using Euro 2 diesel fuel, the price of which is Rp 2,080 (25 U.S. cents) per liter, Rp 430 more than regular diesel fuel.
By buying only 18,000 liters of fuel per day, the administration would have to spend Rp 24.96 million on subsidizing Pertamina's production.
Euro 2 diesel fuel is environmentally friendlier and its emission is much cleaner than Euro 1 diesel fuel. Vehicles using Euro 2 diesel fuel would emit fewer pollutants to the atmosphere.
As an example, sulfur particles at Euro 2 standard are about 500 parts per million (ppm) but for Euro 1 they are over 1,000 ppm.
Nearly all vehicles, including public transportation in Indonesia, have yet to adopt the Euro 2 fuel standard.
Ahmad said that diesel fuel sold at gas stations here contained 3,500 ppm to 5,000 ppm of sulfur particles.
"It would be good news for our environment if the administration genuinely intended to use Euro 2 diesel fuel," he said.
Assistant to the city secretary for development affairs Irzal Djamal told the Post that the reason for using the fuel was to meet public demand to provide environmentally friendlier public transportation.
Irzal said that since the administration had yet to adopt a plan to build a gas station offering Euro 2 diesel fuel, tanker trucks would deliver it directly from Balongan to the city.
The 12.9-kilometer busway corridor connecting Blok M, South Jakarta, and downtown Kota, West Jakarta, has entered its final stages of preparation.
The administration has been building shelters for the busway in the median strip along Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat and Jl. Gajah Mada.
The buses on the system will, however, be able to accommodate only around 20,000 of the total 60,000 commuters who travel from Blok M to Kota.