Having Abundant Uranium Reserves, West Kalimantan Welcomes Nuclear Power Plant Development

Illustration of a nuclear core in a nuclear research reactor pool belonging to BATAN, Puspiptek, South Tangerang, Tuesday, April 23. (ANTARA/BNPT)

PONTIANAK - The Provincial Government of West Kalimantan (Kalbar) supports Indonesia's nuclear development program considering the potential for uranium mining reserves which are quite large in the area.

"We have a very high potential in the field of nuclear power, starting from reserves of uranium nuclear minerals in Kalan Village, Melawi Regency, to the use of nuclear power in the form of nuclear power plants," said the Assistant for Administration and General Secretary of the Regional Secretary of West Kalimantan Province (Assistant III of the West Kalimantan Provincial Secretary) , Alfian in Pontianak, Friday 20 May.

To maximize the program, he said, socialization and providing understanding to stakeholders and the community were needed more intensely so that the public understood that the safety of the use of nuclear power could be guaranteed because there was strict supervision from BAPETEN.

He said that all things that were done in fostering the nuclear power legislation in the field of nuclear installations and materials needed to be conveyed, namely the need for the role of local governments in the application of nuclear power in order to develop the region.

Local governments, both provincial and district or city in West Kalimantan are not only spectators, but must be able to actively contribute to providing positive participation in providing support.

"God willing, the regional government will welcome what the central government is doing. And give full support to the central policies because West Kalimantan remains part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia," he said.

On the same occasion, BAPETEN's Deputy for Nuclear Safety Studies, Dahlia Cakrawati Sinaga explained, the issuance of the Job Creation Law gave new enthusiasm for business actors, especially in the ease of doing business.

The business classification is divided into 3 types based on Government Regulation Number 5 of 2021 concerning the Implementation of Risk-Based Business Licensing, namely the classification of businesses into low, medium, and high risk.

Nuclear business in PP Number 2021 by taking into account the potential risks it has to society and the environment, is classified as a business with high risk.

"West Kalimantan is the goal of fostering nuclear legislation, because West Kalimantan has the potential for radioactive minerals and there is a plan to build a Nuclear Power Plant (PLTN)," he said.

For this reason, the government through BAPETEN encourages the potential for nuclear energy to be utilized as much as possible while still paying attention to safety and security in its utilization.