Presidential Staff Office Urges Ministries to Resolve Obstacles in Gas Network Targets
The Chief of Staff to the President, Dudung Abdurachman, has requested that relevant ministries and agencies (K/L) immediately resolve various challenges and obstacles regarding the construction and operation of the household natural gas network (jargas) to meet the target of 1 million household connections (SR).
Dudung stated that resolving obstacles, particularly concerning licensing and operational readiness, is essential to ensure that the development of gas networks in various regions does not face delays and that the connection targets are met.
“Therefore, the support of every ministry and agency is still required so that permits for the next locations are prepared during the planning stage and processed in parallel,” said Dudung, while inspecting the operational readiness of the gas network built through the State Budget (APBN) in Gresik Regency, East Java, on Friday.
According to him, the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) will continue to oversee the resolution of these hurdles through cross-ministerial and agency coordination meetings for debottlenecking, ensuring that issues hindering the construction and operation of the gas network can be promptly settled.
He noted that this acceleration is vital as the development of the gas network is part of the government’s effort to achieve the target of 1 million household connections by 2028, while simultaneously reducing dependence on imported LPG.
These connections are estimated to reduce the consumption of 3kg LPG cylinders by approximately 36,600 cylinders per month.
For the 2025-2026 period, the government targets the construction of 119,37ly79 household connections across 15 regencies/cities.
In Gresik, the physical progress of the gas network construction has reached 95.4 per cent of the 7,363 targeted connections.
Dudung mentioned that several licensing issues that previously hindered the operation of the gas network in Gresik have now been resolved, including environmental approvals (UKL-UPL), technical recommendations for district roads, and technical recommendations for river crossings.
“The licensing constraints that have been holding back operations have been resolved,” he said.
With the resolution of licensing issues, the KSP is encouraging relevant ministries and agencies to immediately shift their focus to the operational phase of the gas network.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has been asked to promptly appoint the managing business entity and issue natural gas trading business licences.
Meanwhile, SKK Migas is expected to ensure gas allocation and delivery points, while BPH Migas is tasked with preparing household gas prices that are more affordable than 3kg LPG cylinders.
“If permits for the next locations are prepared during the planning stage and processed in parallel, we can reduce obstacles and accelerate the achievement of our targets,” Dudung added.