Kendari, SE Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - The Southeast Sulawesi provincial government is planning to file a lawsuit with the local court against nickel mining company PT Inco on the grounds it has harmed the local people`s interests.
"The international company now controls more than 62,000 hectares of nickel mining concession under a contract of work signed in 1968 but it does not contribute to the local people`s welfare whatsoever," Southeast Sulawesi Governor Nur Alam said here on Sunday.
In 1992 PT Inco extended its contract of work which ended in 1996 to another 22 years until 2018, he said.
During its more than 30 years of operation, PT Inco had never met its obligation including paying a rent of US$1 on a hectare of land per year, he said.
"The company started paying a rent of US$1 on a hectare of land per year only in 1992 when it extended its contract of work," he said.
Therefore, the local government would file a lawsuit with the court against the company`s ignorance of its obligation, he said.
The local government would ask the Canadian company not only to pay compensation but also to transfer the mining area to the local government to allow other interested company to manage it, he said.
"If the mining area is managed (under a mutually beneficial scheme), the Southeast Sulawesi government will earn sizable income to promote the local people`s living standard," he said.
The governor said he had informed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of his intention to file a lawsuit against PT Inco and the President had given a positive response to it.
"The President asked me to prepare evidence of PT Inco`s ignorance to file the lawsuit with the court and we have prepared the evidence," he said. (*)
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