Refinery delay adds to pollution woes

By John Aglionby

INDONESIA's urban pollution problems are set to worsen following the postponement of the construction of Pertamina's proposed new oil refinery.

The new refinery in Cilacap, Central Java, would have concentrated on producing unleaded gasoline, a key requirement in reducing vehicle emissions and subsequent urban smog.

The indefinite postponement of the refinery is yet another fallout from the current economic crisis that has decimated much of Indonesia's industrial sector, particularly the automotive industry.

Since July, the country's carmakers have been complaining about being the victims of a double body blow; rising production costs and declining demand, but this latest setback will probably prove much more costly in the long run.

The consequence of this delay is that Indonesia does not have a hope of meeting President Soeharto's target of phasing out leaded gasoline by 1999.

This in turn means that not only will pollution levels remain higher for several years more than was hoped 12 months ago, but Indonesian motorists will be unable to benefit from advances in engine technology because the majority depend on using unleaded gas.

The chairman of the Indonesian Automotive Manufacturer's Association, Herman Latif, said: "It depends on how quickly the monetary and economic mess can be sorted out but a time correction of probably two to three years will have to be made to this target (of phasing out leaded gasoline)."

He believes there is no option but to be patient. "This is not the time to push the government on this sort of thing. We must just wait until the situation improves."

Other organizations disagree. Swisscontact, a Swiss institution advising the authorities on ways to reduce air pollution, particularly in Jakarta, says the introduction of unleaded gasoline should be a priority and not be seen as a postponable luxury.

"The problem with not introducing unleaded gasoline is that the costs are not visible immediately. They are hidden and spread out across the economy and the community," according to Hugo Sager, Swisscontact's deputy project leader.

The most visible consequence is the pollution and, unless this is tackled, experts believe Indonesia will face an increased annual health care bill of about US$180 million. It has also been proven that a child's IQ levels drops if he or she is exposed to continuously high levels of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, lead and other pollutants.

Vehicle engines also run less efficiently on leaded gasoline. They require servicing more often and are unlikely to last as long as those run on lead-free fuel.

Last week in Bali hundreds of the world's leading automotive engineers, designers and researchers gathered for the ninth International Pacific Conference on Automotive Engineering.

Its subtitle was Motor Vehicle and Environment, but the main point local attendees took home was that it will be some years before Indonesia begins to reduce the 12 to 15 year gap between technology available here and in the rest of the world.

Sager said: "It was a very technical conference, for instance there were discussions on which angle an engine valve should be at to reduce NOX emission. But the common theme was that all these ultra-lean engines that save fuel and cut greenhouse gas emissions run on unleaded gas.

"Hopefully the government will see in which direction the industry is heading and it will see that Indonesia must head in the same direction or it will be left even further behind," he said.

One Indonesian automotive industry executive who attended said: "Car prices in Indonesia are already very high and unless we can use the latest technology, that is being used in the rest of the world, then they are not going to get any cheaper."

Some, albeit small, advances have been made. A liter of unleaded gas, Super TT, is now only Rp 50 (1.3 U.S. cents) more than Premix, Rp 900 as opposed to Rp 850, and the number of gas stations selling Super TT has increased in the last few months from six to 27.

But further progress on the engine technology and pollution fighting fronts is dependent on Pertamina increasing the supply of Super TT on a massive scale and making it cheaper than leaded fuel, Sager says.

"Only then will manufacturers fit catalytic converters as a matter of course which will both reduce pollution and improve engine efficiency," he said.

But, as the postponement of the Cilacap refinery suggests, Pertamina -- which declined to comment on the issue -- is in no hurry to speed up the pace of change.

So the widespread use of unleaded fuel in Indonesia, and its resulting benefits, is likely to remain a pipe dream until well into the next century.