Sudjana defends PT Artha Daya

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana has defended the designation of PT Artha Daya Coalindo to handle the sale of coal received by the government from private coal mining contractors.

Sudjana said Artha Daya's designation to manage state coal sales was aimed at securing a sufficient coal supply for the state electricity company PLN which has experienced difficulties in the past in buying coal for its power plants.

"We don't want to see PLN experience difficulties in finding coal for its power plants any longer," Sudjana said.

Sudjana approved Artha Daya's appointment last December after the plan was proposed by Director General of Mining Adjat Sudradjat.

But the move has drawn criticism from observers and legislators.

A legislator of the Golkar ruling party, Joeslin Nasution, recently told The Jakarta Post the designation was in conflict with Presidential Decree No. 75 of 1996, which orders coal mining contractors to give the government's coal share to the Minister of Finance in cash.

Sudjana did not comment on such criticism.

Sudjana stated in a letter dated Dec. 12 that he approved Artha Daya's appointment because the firm was affiliated with PT Pembangkitan Listrik Jawa-Bali I (PJB I), which is a PLN subsidiary.

The company would be able to secure the supply of coal to PJB I, Sudjana said in his letter.

Existing law obliges coal mining contractors to hand over 13.5 percent of their output to the government as concessionary fees and royalties.

Previously, the government assigned the state coal mining company PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam to conduct the trading of its coal share and transfer the proceeds to the government.

But Sudjana sparked a controversy two years ago when he blamed Bukit Asam for using the proceeds ineffectively instead of transferring them to the government.

Sudjana then ordered the company to transfer the money to his official account.

President Soeharto later issued a decree revoking Bukit Asam's designation and ordering all private coal mining contractors to transfer the government's coal share in the form of cash to the Minister of Finance.

PJB I president Firdaus Akmal has acknowledged that his company has a 20 percent stake in Artha Daya, but refused to name the other shareholders.

He said Artha Daya would export part of the government's coal share after providing a sufficient supply to PJB I.

PJB I has signed a contract with Bukit Asam to supply coal for its 3,400 megawatt steam power plant in Suralaya, West Java.

But, Firdaus said, Bukit Asam failed once to supply enough coal, forcing PJB I to find alternative suppliers.

"Artha daya is expected to secure our coal supply for us," Firdaus said. (jsk)