PTBA Ready To Work On Replacement Products For LPG From Coal, But Wait For Government Assignment

PTBA Corporate Secretary, Niko Chandra (photo: mery/voi.id)

BOGOR - A member of the Mining BUMN Holding, PT Bukit Asam (PTBA) is ready to work on a project to replace the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). However, with a note, if there is an assignment from the government.

PTBA's Corporate Secretary, Niko Chandra, said that his party was pushing downstream coal into dimethyl ether (DME) which could replace the use of LPG in Indonesia.

Even so, Niko emphasized that this readiness also needs to be balanced with the DME market in Indonesia. He said one of them was through the assignment given by the government.

"So I think that what is now Pak Prabowo yesterday after the meeting conveyed about downstreaming back to DME. Well, this is also what we actually encourage the government so that this really needs an assignment," he said in an official statement, Saturday, November 30.

Niko explained that the assignment was aimed at ensuring that DMEs were absorbed by the public. On the other hand, he said that as a state company, PTBA has a function to serve the public interest.

"The end of the DME will replace this LPG, especially for 3 kilograms of LPG subsidies. This is the end for the public which is for the community, yes, of course we need an assignment there," he said.

If you look at China, Niko continued, the downstream that has been successfully carried out is closely related to intervention from the government through various policies, including providing fiscal incentives and other strategic support.

"If we look at what is being done in China, it is indeed extraordinary for how to encourage downstreaming and industry there to grow because there are indeed many from fiscal incentives and so on," he added.