Posco begins feasibility study on East Kalimantan rail project

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A business consortium led by South Korean conglomerate Posco Engineering and Construction Ltd. has begun a feasibility study on the construction of a 350-km railway in East Kalimantan.

The railway, which will be specially designed for the transportation of coal in the province, will require an investment of about Rp 22 trillion (about US$2 billion), Antara reported Wednesday.

Other consortium members are Kenertec Co. Ltd., also of South Korea, and two local firms, PT Nuansa Cipta Coal Investment (NCCI) and PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).

"We are optimistic that the project will prove to be feasible. We only have to wait for the feasibility study results, which will come through in October," representative director of Kenertec, Guang Yil Hong, told reporters after a meeting with the East Kalimantan administration Tuesday.

Guang said that the rail line would be 350 km in length and link East Kalimantan with Central Kalimantan.

Head of accident prevention at KAI, Budi Noviantoro, said that coal had been transported to date in East Kalimantan by barge to Balikpapan.

He said that the rail line would be able to carry 18.5 million tons of coal per year.

He said that according to a 2006 report by Nippon Koe and Marubeni, the Mahakam route was the preferred one as it passed through areas with the biggest reserves of coal in Kalimantan.

"Construction will start from Balikpapan through Kalipapak, Central Kalimantan, and end in Muara Tuhuk, which is projected to become a coal terminal," he said.

NCCI director Makbul Sujudi said that if the project turned out to be feasible, the consortium would start construction work in 2009, with completion expected within three or four years.

Disaster training for medical officers

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (Antara): The Ministry of Health said it has established an international training consortium on disaster risk reduction (ITC-DRR) this month to better handle disaster response management.

The ministry's spokesperson Lily Sulistyowati said the consortium, which involves universities, hospitals, and health institutions, will provide training for disaster relief workers.

Disaster relief efforts have been in progress for some time, with ongoing emergency management training for 1,149 medical officers posted across nine regional crisis centers, she said.

"The training program began in 2006, and involves officers from Medan, Palembang, Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Bali, Banjarmasin, Makassar and Manado," the spokesperson said Friday.

Training areas include disaster management, radio communication, emergency treatment, medicine and logistics management, rapid health assessment, advanced cardio life support, as well as advanced trauma life support.

Medical officers need specialized skills in disaster relief management, including categorizing patients, setting priorities and how best to deliver medical assistance.

Lily also said disaster response management, especially health services, facilities and equipment, needs improvement because disasters are often followed by various health problems.

TNT Express Indonesia to focus on growing European market

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

TNT Express Indonesia, a top business-to-business express carrier firm, has launched a Euro Expert program under its TNT Economy Express service to expand business and focus on the European market.

TNT Express Indonesia director Peter Langley said in a statement that the program was aimed at encouraging more customers to use TNT Economy Express, which offers an economical alternative for less urgent shipments.

He added that shipments could contain items ranging in weight from 20 kg up to 500 kg, such as heavyweight electronics, automotive and computing equipment to textiles and fragile life science goods.

"As the trade between Indonesia and EU looks set to grow further and expand into various sectors, the launch of TNT's Euro Expert Economy Express offers enhanced connectivity, efficient and reliable economy services," Langley said.

Currently, the EU is Indonesia's second largest trading partner after Japan.

TNT Express Indonesia, which started its business in 1979 under the name of PT Skypak International, now has more than 17 branch offices, 14 agents and 600 staff, and operates through six gateways -- Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Balikpapan, Medan and Batam.

Indonesian government awards Rp3.2 trln toll road project to Bakrie

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian conglomerate PT Bakrie & Brothers said Tuesday the government has named its consortium the winner in the tender to build a 25-kilometer toll road in east Jakarta at an estimated cost of 3.2 trillion rupiah.

The Bakrie consortium beat the other contender for the project, namely the Thiess-Waskita consortium, Bakrie president Bobby Gafur Umar told Thomson Financial.

He said the Bakrie consortium also includes Global Financindo and Malaysian toll road operator Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan Bhd (PLUS), a unit of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the investment arm of Malaysia's ministry of finance.

Gafur said construction of the project will start in the third quarter 2008 and is targeted to be completed in 2010.

The consortium will be granted a concession period of 35 years during which it will generate revenue from the toll road.

Existing Indonesian law stipulates that toll road fares should be raised every two years. The last hike was just implemented two weeks ago.

Some systems to detect wind shear were not working at time of Thai crash: Official

The Jakarta Post

PHUKET, Thailand (AP): Half of the systems to detect potentially dangerous wind shear were not working at the time of a crash at a Phuket airport that killed 89 people on board and injured more than 40 others, officials said Tuesday.

The budget One-Two-Go Airlines flight OG269 was carrying 123 passengers and seven crew from Bangkok to Phuket when it skidded off a runway Sunday while landing in driving wind and rain, catching fire and engulfing some passengers in flames as others kicked out windows to escape.

Investigators have said wind shear - a sudden change in either wind speed or direction in an aircraft's flight path that can destabilize a plane - was among the possible causes of the crash.

"Three out of six low-level wind shear alert systems were not working at the time," said Vuttichai Singhamanee, director of flight standard bureau of Transport Ministry's Aviation Authority Department.

Vuttichai said the solar-powered systems - which were out of power at the time of the crash - could have made it difficult for the pilot Arief Mulyadi, to judge whether it was safe to land.

Mulyadi, who died in the crash, had come under fire from some Transport Ministry officials for landing, despite warnings from the flight tower about treacherous wind shear at the airport.

While it is too early to definitively say what caused the crash, Kajit Habnanonda, president of Orient-Thai Airlines, which owns One-Two-Go, also pointed to wind shear as a possible factor.

Kajit also defended the pilot Tuesday as having "plenty of aviation experience under his belt."

Kajit said the pilot who flew the doomed aircraft was one of the best pilots in his firm.

Pilot of doomed Thai flight knew of wind threat

Bangkok (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian pilot of a budget airliner that crashed on the Thai resort island of Phuket tried to land despite being warned of windshear threats, a Thai air traffic control official said on Tuesday.

Two other pilots had reported dramatic changes in wind speed and direction as they landed minutes before the doomed One-Two-Go flight, which crashed in a fierce monsoon storm, killing 89 people.

"The pilot definitely knew about the windshear because he was on the same radio frequency as the previous two planes," Kamtorn Sirikorn, a senior executive at air traffic controller Aerothai, told Reuters.

"The control tower repeated the conditions to him and he acknowledged them just before the landing. The tape I listened to verified this," he said, referring to the communications between the control tower and the plane.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 veered off the runway before smashing into a wooded embankment and bursting into flames.

Most of the dead were foreign tourists.

The Indonesian flight captain and his Thai co-pilot were both killed, but 41 people survived a crash likely to raise more safety questions about the budget carriers that have sprung up across Asia in the last decade.

"We did not ask him to abort the landing because it was not our job to do so. We would advise against landing only if the runway was not clear or there was no visibility," he said.

There have been reports that the pilot could not see the airstrip, but Kamtorn said visibility was 4 km (2.5 miles), "which was quite sufficient for a safe landing and for the pilot to see the runway".

Regional government leaders should not joint evacuation, Yudhoyono says

Bengkulu (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered regional government leaders not to leave their tasks behind and join evacuation when a national disaster hit their areas.

"Leaders must have the sense of willing to sacrifice for their people in handling a natural disaster though it is something difficult to face," the president said when observing the center of Bengkulu Natural Disaster Mitigation Task Force (Satkolak PBA) here on Monday.

President Yudhoyono, who was accompanied by Chief Minister for People`s Welfare Aburizal Bakri, Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari and Indonesian Defense Forces Commander Djoko Suyanto, symbolically handed over relief aid to Bengkulu Governor Agusrin Maryono Najamudin.

He said that he could not accept if regional leaders were also `evacuated` when there were emergency situations such as the ones befalling the provinces of Bengkulu, West Sumatra and other regions.

The president said the disaster impacts would be difficult to be managed well and maximally if the leaders left their tasks behind.

"I will not blame them if they evacuate because there are aftershocks or tsunami but they can still issue instructions from their evacuation places so that the people would not lose control," he said.

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 rocked Indonesia`s Bengkulu province at 6.10 p.m. on Wednesday, claiming the lives of 14 people and injuring 23 others.

The president said that in an emergency situation a leader must be ready to stay awake all the time if needed. "If a leader does not carry out his or her tasks well it could be ascertained that the job would not be settled effectively," he added.

On the occasion, the president also asked regional governments not to provide misleading information from irrelevant agencies aside from, for example, the Geophysics and Meteorology Agency.

He also made the same appeal to the media publications, electronic or print, advising them they quote news from official sources.

President to spend night in quake-hit place

Bengkulu (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here Monday he would spend the night in a quake-affected place in Sumatra so as to show local community leaders what they should among other things do when there was a natural disaster in their jurisdiction.

Speaking during a visit to Bengkulu`s Provincial Natural Disaster Handling Center (Satkorlak), the president said he wanted to spend the night in a quake-hit place in order to make sure that government decisions, instructions and policy on mitigation of the disaster were right.

The president, who had just listened to a report on the impact of last Wednesday`s powerful earthquake from Bengkulu Governor Agusrin Maryono Najamudin, said he would sleep in a disaster-hit spot to set an example to district heads (who were responsible for disaster mitigation efforts in the field) on how they could make sure that their measures to deal with an emergency were right and effective.

"I will bave no tolerance for any regional chief who fails to do his or her job in an an emergency situation," Yudhoyono said.

The president said, a leader who avoided taking a risk, was not a good leader. Therefore, he called on district chiefs across the country to prepare themselves and, if necessary, take risks to help residents when there was a disaster.

Yudhoyono said when earthquakes hit Nabire in Papua, Nias and other areas, he did the same thing.

"I slept in a makeshift tent in Nabire while the area was being rocked by aftershocks," the head of state said.

On the occasion, the president also expressed his condolences to the families of earthquake victims in Bengkulu, and his gratitude to all the parties involved in emergency response efforts.

After his visit to Bengkulu`s Satkorlak, the President and his entourage boarded helicopters to visit quake-hit locations and victims in Muko Muko district and later proceeded to West Sumatra.

Indonesia August motorcycle sales up 17 pct from July, led by Honda

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian domestic motorcycle sales in August rose 17 percent from July to 429,156 bikes, with Honda taking the biggest market share, data released Monday by the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association show.

Honda regained its market leadership after losing it to Yamaha in July, with sales in August of 187,544 bikes compared to Yamaha's 168,708, Thomson Financial reported citing the association.

In July, Honda's sales reached 143,305 compared to Yamaha's 162,111 units.

Honda bikes sold domestically are produced by PT Astra Honda Motor, a 50-50 joint venture between PT Astra International and Japan's Honda Motor Co.

Suzuki was the third biggest-selling brand, with sales of 65,334 bikes in August, up 22 percent from July.

More than 15,000 buildings damaged in Indonesian quake

Ketahun, Indonesia (ANTARA News) - More than 15,000 buildings collapsed or were seriously damaged by a series of massive earthquakes striking Indonesia's Sumatra, authorities said Saturday as the death toll rose to 17.

An initial 8.4-magnitude quake struck at dusk off Sumatra's west coast on Wednesday and was followed by a series of major aftershocks, jolting the coastal provinces of Bengkulu and West Sumatra most severely.

In Bengkulu, nearly 2,000 houses were totally flattened and nearly 4,000 others badly damaged, said Bowo Santoso from the governor's disaster rescue centre. About 90 local hospitals and clinics were also damaged, he added.

In West Sumatra, more than 9,700 houses collapsed or were too badly damaged to be inhabitable, said Suryadi from the disaster rescue centre there. More than 100 mosques and about 20 school buildings were also damaged, he said.

Meanwhile Hercules transport planes were to try to drop aid on several islands in the Mentawai group off Sumatra which were badly hit by the quake and a small tsunami, said an official in the city of Padang.

Frans Karel, an official on Pagai Utara island, said no aid had yet been received and many frightened villagers were still sheltering in the hills.

"We haven't yet received aid. All the kiosks have collapsed and their food stocks are wet," he told AFP by telephone.

"Almost 75 percent of houses on the coastline along a 10-kilometre (eight miles) stretch are badly damaged and collapsed."

Rescue workers were still scouring rubble to hunt for victims feared to be trapped under collapsed houses, Rustam Pakaya from the health ministry's crisis centre told ElShinta radio.

The death toll was now at 17, and 88 people were injured, he said.

Bus-truck collision in Indonesia kills 10, injures 15

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (AP): Ten people were killed and 15 others injured when a truck collided head on Saturday with a packed bus, sending it hurtling into a river in East Java's city of Ngawi, police said.

The accident occurred as the speeding truck changed lanes to miss a pothole in the town of Ngawi in East Java.

The truck slammed into the bus hauling 30 people, then plunged into a river near Ngawi, about 520 kilometers east of Jakarta, said local police Capt. Irfan Susanto.

Six passengers were killed instantly, and four others, including the bus driver, died in nearby hospitals, he said.

Fifteen others were hospitalized with cuts and broken bones. Some remained in critical condition, including the truck driver and a 3-year-old boy, Susanto said.

"It's the most unsafe road in this area due to holes and damaged pavement that has not yet been repaired," Susanto said. "Drivers have to watch out and slow down."

Road accidents are common on Indonesia's crowded highways, where buses and trucks are poorly maintained and traffic laws are often ignored.

High rises unaffected by quakes: BMG

Mustaqim Adamrah and Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said Thursday the earthquake and aftershocks that rattled western Sumatra on Wednesday would not affect buildings in the capital.

"All buildings and infrastructure in Jakarta have been designed to adapt to quakes," earthquake division head Suhardjono said at the agency's headquarters.

The epicenter of Wednesday's 7.9-Richter-scale earthquake was some 100 kilometers southwest of the capital of Bengkulu and at a depth of about 15 kilometers.

Bystanders on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, reportedly saw office buildings sway during the quake.

The Jakarta disaster coordinating task force head, Bobby Aryono, said the unit had not received any reports of damaged buildings as of Thursday afternoon.

Suhardjono said the buildings and infrastructure were designed to sway according to the movement created by an earthquake and thus were safe from it.

"So, Jakartans should not have panicked or been hysterical. Moreover, the epicenter was far (from the capital). It would have been another story if the epicenter were nearby," he said.

However, geotechnical engineering researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences Adrin Tohari said that Jakarta's northern coastal area was vulnerable to liquefaction during earthquakes as it sat on unsolid soil.

Liquefaction makes the ground lose its ability to support structures.

"It would ruin buildings and blow up pipelines planted below the surface. The reclamation areas on the northern coastline are prone to liquefaction," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Adrin made the prediction based on his research on the impact of an earthquake on liquefaction risks in Bengkulu.

The research, carried out in July, found that an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale that hit Bengkulu in 2000 caused land subsidence of between 20 centimeters to 30 cm in coastal areas.

"The composition of Bengkulu's coastal areas is mostly cohesion-less sands and clay similar to Jakarta's northern coastal zone," he said.

Houses in coastal areas of Bengkulu collapsed in the 2000 earthquake.

The Jakarta administration is reclaiming a 32-kilometer stretch of northern coastline to add about 2,700 hectares of land to the city.

The land will be used for industrial parks, hotels, office buildings and upscale accommodation for up to 1.19 million residents.

The BMG recorded three aftershocks in Sumatra on Wednesday and Thursday and issued a tsunami warning.

Suhardjono said that the quake and its aftershocks resulted from clashes and friction between the Indo-Australian tectonic plate and the Eurasian tectonic plate.

Govt declares emergency response status for Bengkulu and Padang

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government has declared an emergency response status for Bengkulu and Padang respectively for a week and three days following quakes that had rattled the two regions on Wednesday and Thursday.

The decision to that effect was made at a limited cabinet meeting chaired by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Halim Perdanakusuma air force base here on Thursday evening.

In the meeting which was also attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla and a number of cabinet ministers it was reported that 10 people had so far been found killed in the disaster, namely six in Bengkulu and four in West Sumatra.

At a press conference after the meeting President Yudhoyono said he had told heads of the regions rocked by the quake who happened to be out of town or abroad to immediately return home to direct emergency response efforts.

"As aftershocks still continued, he called on residents in affected areas to remain alert. They must be in full alert while continuing their emergency response efforts and must not panic as operating procedures for dealing with natural disasters are already in place and trainings in dealing with disasters were about to be started," he said.

On the occasion the President also offered his condolences to the families and relatives of the quake victims and called for immediate attention to the injured.

He said although the tremors were quite strong, reports and results of inspections in the quake-ridden areas said the damage caused to the two affected regions was minimum, including the number of deaths.

He praised the people who had learnt a lesson from the quakes and tsunami in Aceh in 2004. "I heard that the local governments` response to the disaster and the swiftness of the people in seeking safety have been better. This deserves an appreciation. The results are good," he said.

In spite of the fact he said that the government would contine to improve the system of disaster handling including logistics supply, so that any disaster could be handled quickly by local governments and the central government would only help in case of a huge disaster.

Information minister Muhammad Nuh meanwhile said two islands namely Mentawai and Muko-Muko still remained isolated after the quake and telephone lines there had also been cut off so that the real situation in the areas was still not known.

Bengkulu quake detected in five minutes only

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) managed to detect the tectonic quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale which rocked Bengkulu on Wednesday in five minutes only, the agency said.

"We managed to obtain the data on the epicenter of the quake in a relatively short time. Only in five minutes, after which we could release the information," Dr P.J. Prih Harjadi, BMG Deputy for Data and Information Systems said when contacted from Jakarta on Thursday.

He said the speed of detection depended on the magnitude of the quake.

"If the magnitude is high, many BMG seismographic stations in different parts of the country will be able to catch the signals, so that within three or four minutes information can be sent to BMG head office," Prih said.

"The ability of BMG stations to detect quakes in a relatively short time is an improvement," he said.

In the past, BMG stations were only equipped with apparatuses and devices to record the vibrations, but now they have instruments to detect the speed and magnitude of a quake to predict tsunami, he said.

Compared to data from the US Geological Survey Institution (USGS), the BMG stations in Indonesia are much quicker than the USGS which could release the result of its detection in ten minutes.

The death toll of the powerful earthquake that rocked the southern coast of Sumatra island on Wednesday evening has reached nine by Thursday afternoon.

"Six people were killed in Bengkulu and three in West Sumatra," Deputy Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Coordination Board Thabrani said.

The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 also left 43 people injured, 23 of them serious, he said.

In Bengkulu which bore the brunt of Wednesday`s earthquake, at least 32 houses were levelled to the ground and 335 others seriously damaged, he said.

VP thankful early warning system proved beneficial in Bengkulu quake

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla has expressed gratitude for the fact that people in coastal areas had benefited from existing early warning systems when a powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale rattled Bengkulu and West Sumatra provinces on Wednesday evening.

"The public`s awareness about unpredicted disasters has improved. When the earthquake struck, people in coastal areas immediately fled their homes to escape a possible ensuing tsunami. Therefore, I am thankful that the early warning systems worked," Kalla said in his capacity as chairman of the National Coordinating Board for Refugee and Natural Disaster Mitigation here on Thursday.

He said the small number of fatalities in the powerful earthquake which hit Bengkulu and Jambi on Wednesday proved that the people had already become aware of the advantages of having early warning systems.

"There are two measures that we should take in the future. The first is we have to prepare people to face disasters, the second is train them continually while preparing the logistics and medical supplies when we are in emergency situations," Kalla said.

He said people should also improve the structures and foundations of their houses in order to be able to survive earthquakes.

Kalla said the government had already made examples and prescribed good standards of quake-resistant buildings, although it would take time for people to follow them.

On the occasion, the vice president also expressed his gratitude to the media which had continued to warn the people against the possible occurrence of tsunami.

"My sincere gratitude also goes to the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) which has accurately warned the people of impending disaster," Kalla said, adding that he was also thankful that only minor damage was done by Wednesday`s earthquake.

PMI begins sending relief aid to Bengkulu quake victims

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) on Thursday began sending relief aid to victims of the earthquake that hit Bengkulu province on Wednesday.

The humantarian organization on Thursday sent 1,000 pieces of tarpaulin, 1,500 hygiene kits, 150 packages of family kits from its warehouses in Padang, West Sumatra, and medicine for about 1,000 patients from its warehouse in Jakarta, the PMI said in a statement.

"The aid will be handed over to Bengkulu`s PMI office which will distribute it to victims," the head of PMI`s Disaster Handling Division, Arifin Muh. Hadi, said.

In the meantime, PMI Bengkulu had deployed 30 volunteers to carry out a field assessment in North Bengkulu, the worst-hit area.

PMI`s assistance would be distributed based on the results of the field assessment.

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 that rocked Indonesia`s Bengkulu province at 6.10 p.m. on Wednesday has claimed the lives of six people, injured 23 others and damaged tens of houses, public buildings and infrastructure facilities.

According to reports received by the Bengkulu branch of the Natural Disaster Mitigation Coordination Agency (Bakorna) at 11 am on Thursday, the newly discovered victims were residents of Bengkulu Utara and Muko Muko districts, Hamsyir Lair, the chief of the agency`s local unit, said.

Some 32 houses and shophouses were totally destroyed -- eight in Bengkulu City and 24 in Bengkulu Utara --, 430 buildings were seriously damaged and 609 others suffered minor damage.

Hamsyir said the natural disaster had also wreaked havoc on eight houses of worship in Bengkulu City and Bengkulu Utara while three school buildings suffered minor damage.

Although the tremblor was not as catastrophic as the 7.3 magnitude quake of June 4, 2000 when 95 people were killed and tens of thousands of house buildings were damaged, it caused anxiety about a tsunami.

TNI chief makes aerial survey of quake-hit Bengkulu

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - National Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Air Marshal Djoko Suyanto on Thursday morning made an impromptu aerial survey of quake-affected locations in Bengkulu and West Sumatra aboard a military aircraft.

The aerial survey lasted from 8 am to 10 am on Thursday, TNI Headquarters spokesman Rear Marshal Sagom Tamboen said here Thursday.

The TNI commander returned to the Halim Perdanakusumah airbase in Jakarta at 11 a.m. following the aerial inspection.

Sagom said the TNI chief had made the trip to assess the damage done by the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred on Wednesday (Sept 12) at 6:10 p.m. The quake was followed by several aftershocks.

"Through the survey , we can decide what kinds of assistance the TNI can give to post-disaster mitigation efforts," he said.

The TNI commander was expected to directly report his findings at a limited cabinet meeting led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday afternoon.

PT IATA wins US$49.9 mln air contract with ConocoPhilips Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - PT Indonesia Air Transport (JSX:IATA) has won a US$49.9 million contract with ConocoPhilips Indonesia to lease three EC155B1 helicopters, an IATA executive said. "On September 10, 2007, we received a letter of intent from ConocoPhilips dated September 7 to lease three of our helicopters," IATA finance director Krisman Tarigan said here.

The letter of intent said ConocoPhilips would lease the choppers for five years, between February 1, 2008 and January 2013.

According to IATA's business profile, the company' main activity is provision of air transport services such as aircraft and helicopter chartering, air cargo, repair shop and maintenance and other related services.

President calls for emergency measures in handling Bengkulu quake aftermath

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on a national support to emergency measures of coping with the aftermath of the quake which hit Bengkulu with a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale on Wednesday at 18:10 local time.

"The president has instructed the people`s welfare coordinating minister, the military (TNI) chief, the national police chief and his subordinates to prepare emergency measures of providing humanitarian aid to the quake victims," presidential spokesman Andi Malarangeng said here on Wednesday evening.

Andi said that the president is constantly monitoring the situation in Bengkulu either through the governor of the province and the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.

"The president received information from the field on the quake which had killed one person when a building collapsed. To handle the victims killed and injured in the disaster, the president called for a quick handling of the victims," Andi said.

According to him, the president had yet to decide whether to visit the quake-stricken region for a close look at the aftermath of the disaster, especially the victims.

The president had also instructed some ministers to immediately monitor the aftermath of the quake and provide humanitarian aid to the victims.

In the meantime, the Indonesian Air Force has prepared two of its giant cargo aircraft Hercules C 130 to help cope with the strong earthquake measured at 7,9 on the Richter Scale which hit Bengkulu on Wednesday evening.

"We have yet to decide on the departure of the aircraft, but we have already prepared some of them," Operations Chief of the Halim Perdanakusumah airbase Flight Colonel Gutomo said here Wednesday night.

"We are still waiting for instructions and relief aid to be flown to Bengkulu and to some other cities which had also been damaged by the strong tremor," Gutomo said.

A spokesman for the Sriwijaya Military Command, Lt Col Nurdin, said that he was still awaiting detailed reports on the post-quake situation in Padang, West Sumatra.

"Contact between us and security personnel in the field is still cut off due to disrupted telephone lines," he said.

However, his side had taken the necessary anticipative measures of preparing emergency tents and a field hospital for the quake-ridden area.

The tremor`s epicenter was located 159 kilometers northwest of Bengkulu 4.67 degrees south latitude and 101.13 degrees east longitude. It struck at 6:10 p.m West Indonesian Time so violently that residents in Padang, Palembang, Lampung, and even part of Jakarta also felt it.

Health Ministry gets 150 new ambulances for disaster relief

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Tuesday handed over 150 ambulances to the Health Ministry for disaster relief management, especially in isolated areas.

Kalla said when disasters occurred in remote areas, the lack of access often resulted in higher victim numbers. He hopes the 4-wheel-drive vehicles, which were designed to operate in war and disaster areas, would help resolve this problem.

Kalla suggested the ambulance only be used in limited circumstances, such as evacuations, to save operational costs.

Elshinta radio reported the new ambulances, which cost some Rp 12 billion (US$1.3 million), would be distributed to several hospitals including the National Police and Indonesian Military hospitals.

Shortage of pilots hits local airline operators

Andi Haswidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Following the recent ban on flying to Europe, the government and local airlines have been making efforts to improve safety, such as by launching various capacity-building programs and making new investments in the safety field.

However, the pressing problem of a lack of pilots in Indonesia -- something that is replicated throughout Asia -- remains unanswered as the growth in demand for flights far exceeds the capacity to train new pilots.

According to Boeing's commercial pilot training arm, Alteon Training, India has fewer than 3,000 pilots today but will need more than 12,000 by 2025, while China needs an average of 2,200 new pilots a year just to keep up with air travel growth.

In Indonesia's case, the Transportation Ministry has reported that requests for pilots from local and foreign operators to the Indonesian Aviation Institute (STPI) stood at 535 as of June, while the center can only produce 45 in the whole year.

There are plans to expand the capacity of the STPI to 120 graduates per year, starting 2008. However, that will still not be enough to meet the growing demand.

Moreover, despite their training at the STPI, the newly graduated pilots cannot directly be employed by the commercial airlines as they only have 180 hours flying time on training aircraft.

"To become a captain, a pilot must have at least 1,500 hours of flying time. However, due to the increasing demand, those who have not achieved that number of hours are appointed as captains when they move to other airlines (from Garuda Indonesia)," Garuda captain Rendy Sasmita Adji Wiboto told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Speaking after 33 years of experience, Rendy said that experience was crucial for a pilot as there was much that could not be taught in flight school.

"There is declining tendency in pilot quality these days," he said.

On top of the lack of supply, many experienced pilots are being headhunted by foreign airlines, which offer salaries ranging between US$10,000 and $15,000 per month -- roughly five times what a pilot earns in Indonesia -- and better working condition.

"Based on my calculations, about 150 Garuda pilots have been lured away by foreign operators," Rendy said.

An expert on transportation safety and a former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT), Setio Rahardjo, said that flight safety nowadays was at risk not only from "rookie mistakes", but also from pilot fatigue.

"Pilots tend to fly more due to an increase in flight frequency due to the lack of pilots. This could pose a serious threat to safety."

"The government must take quick action to solve this problem. And as for the airlines, they need to provide the best possible working environments for pilots and crew so that they are easily lured away by overseas offers," Setio said.

John Belson, a captain who is also provides training on International Air Transportation Association (IATA) operational safety audits, said that Indonesia was not only suffering from a lack of pilots, but also a lack of maintenance crew.

"I believe in Indonesia you used to have a very good training program for maintenance people. That no longer happens, I'm told," John said.

RI 'not ready' for next disaster

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia is far from prepared to cope with natural disasters and regional administrations must take responsibility for their communities, particularly in areas prone to tsunamis and earthquakes, experts said.

A three-day seminar about preparing for disasters concluded Wednesday that Cilacap in Central Java was the only region vaguely ready to handle its next natural disaster.

Disaster coordinator with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Jan Sopaheluwakan said LIPI had conducted surveys and studies in five regions, including Serang in Banten, Cilacap in Central Java, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province, Bengkulu province and Padang Pariaman in West Sumatra.

He said the 2007 study found all areas were prone to tsunamis and earthquakes but "most of them are not prepared to face these disasters".

Indonesia has experienced seven tsunamis since 1969, with the 2004 tsunami killing some 250,000 people.

Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) chairwomen Sri Woro Budiharti Haryono said some regions, especially those prone to disasters, did not have the proper equipment to detect tsunamis.

"Only eight regions have receivers to detect earthquakes that could lead to tsunamis," Sri said.

"But they can't determine if a tsunami would occur or not."

She said ideally, regions along sea shores should have at least one receiver.

In April, the first domestically produced tsunami-early-warning-buoy was placed in the Sunda Strait, which separates Banten and Lampung provinces.

The buoy should inform the public of a potential tsunami five to 10 minutes after the wave is detected under the sea, said the program coordinator Ridwan Djamaluddin.

"But it's still in the trial process and it doesn't operate well yet," he said.

The country has four buoys, three of which were made by Germany, he said.

"But they're all still in the trial process.

"We want 22 buoys to be built and fully operational by the end of 2008."

Jan said LIPI's study found only Cilacap in West Java was almost ready to face its next natural disaster.

But he said the lack of preparedness in most regions was due to the way local administrations handled disaster planning.

"They still think that disaster relief efforts are the central government's job," Jan said.

"They also still act responsively, not preventively."

The surveys were conducted across households, school community and local administration levels.

Most families said they understood published disaster instructions, but were not willing to increase the level of preparedness, the study found.

Most households also did not have access to early disaster warnings.

At schools, weak policy-making, poor contingency plans and a lack of human resources contributed to poor disaster planning.

A limited capability to mobilize officers at the regional level also hampered disaster preparations that should involve all members of society, Jan said.

The preparedness program has been conducted since early 2005 and LIPI has committed to assist each region for three years.

Jakarta sees cleaner air through CNG use

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In an effort to overcome the limited piped gas network in the capital, the Jakarta administration plans to adopt a mother-daughter system to distribute compressed natural gas (CNG).

Under a mother-daughter system, gas is compressed at a mother station and delivered via a "tube trailer" to a daughter station. Mother-daughter systems are usually implemented when piped natural gas is not available.

"We will conduct a pilot project using the mother-daughter system in Jakarta next year," Peni Susanti, head of the City Mining Agency, told reporters Wednesday.

The plan to introduce a mother-daughter system is aimed at supporting the central government's blue sky project to improve air quality in the city.

Jakarta is currently the pilot project city for the blue sky project, which requires all public transportation to use CNG.

Peni said many of the existing fuel stations in the capital were located far from gas pipe networks.

The agency signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the operators of Pertamina, Shell and Petronas fuel stations to construct more stations selling CNG.

Of the 264 fuel stations in Jakarta, only seven currently sell CNG.

"Many of the fuel stations have allocated space for CNG outlets, but they are yet to receive CNG supplies," she said.

PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) earlier said the existing gas network could only meet some 40 percent of the gas demand in the capital.

The existing gas pipes are located along Jl. Daan Mogot, Jl Raya Pluit Utara, Jl. Raya Pluit Timur, Jl. R.E Martadinata, Jl. Sunter Barat, Jl. Sunter Selatan, Jl. Yos Sudarso, Jl. Kelapa Gading, Jl. Raya Bekasi and Jl. Pemuda.

The CNG project was first introduced in 1997, but because of the limited number of fuel stations selling CNG, public interest has remained low.

Some taxis, which previously used CNG, have gone back to using diesel.

In 2005, the administration issued a bylaw on air pollution control requiring all public transportation to switch to CNG.

To meet the target, the administration, PGN and Pertamina signed an MOU on a sustainable supply of CNG in the capital.

Pertamina, the state oil and gas producer, will guarantee the fuel supply, while PGN will be responsible for distribution.

Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo called on the operators of fuel stations to improve the quality of fuel to help improve the city's air quality.

"Since there are only a few industries operating in the capital, the air pollution is largely due to the poor quality of fuel used by vehicles," he said at a seminar organized by the City Mining Agency.

"We need more eco-friendly fuels to help clean the city's air."

Fauzi, who will be installed as governor next month, said his office will set tougher standards for fuel sold in Jakarta to meet European emissions standards and help improve the quality of air in the capital.

The government announced the implementation of Euro II emissions standards at the beginning of this year, requiring the use of unleaded gasoline or diesel with low sulfur content with a maximum of 500 ppm (particle per milliliter).

However, sulfur content in diesel fuel sold throughout the city still sits at around 3,300 ppm.

Indonesian motorshow projects more one trillion rupiah in car sales

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesia International Motorshow (IIMS) 2007 held here from July 19 to 28, 2007 is expected to conclude a car sale transaction worth Rp1.005 trillion, the organizers said here on Thursday.

"We hope the car sales during the IIMS 2007, would exceed that of last year," organizing committee chairman Johnny Darmawan, who is also president director of PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM), said on the sidelines of the IIMS.

He said that last year`s IIMS, held on July 21-30, sold 5,406 cars with a transaction value of Rp1.005 trillion.

Johnny expressed optimism that car sales in this year`s motorshow would exceed that of last year because the national car sales trend this year was significantly moving upward.

In the first semester of 2007 car sales increased 30 percent, reaching almost d 200 thousand units. In the same period last year, car sales only reached 150 thousand units.

"The IIMS is a momentum for us to expand our automotive market, much more as the market is rapidly growing," he added.

He hoped that the car sales would reach 39 thousand units up to July so that sales in August would reach 40 thousand units.

Indonesia asks Saudi Arabia to audit airlines

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Transportation Ministry has invited Saudi Arabia to audit the safety standards of Indonesian airlines following its announcement of plans to adopt a European Union ban on all Indonesian airlines.

"Saudi Arabia wants assurance that the kingdom is doing the right thing by adopting the EU ban," Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang S. Ervan said Tuesday.

"To convince them (otherwise), we have invited Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to do their own audit here."

The Transportation Ministry received Monday a letter from the GACA signed on Sunday by GACA vice president of safety and regulation Mohammed R. Berenji stating that the kingdom planned to adopt the EU ban, and not that it had already banned all Indonesian airlines from entering Saudi Arabia as reported by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Bambang also said that Saudi Arabia frequently used EU decisions as a reference point, but that "didn't mean (they adopted) all of the EU's policies".

The ban on all Indonesian airlines from entering EU territory took effect on July 6 even though no Indonesian airline currently serves European routes.

Legislator Abdullah Aswar Anas from the House of Representatives' Commission V overseeing transportation affairs, told the Post that the commission members would ask the transportation minister about the issue at their next meeting.

Garuda Indonesia spokesman Pujobroto told the Post that the airline supported the government's plan.

"What they want is to have a dialogue and clarify with the Indonesian government about the safety of Indonesian airlines."

Garuda Indonesia is the only Indonesian airline with routes to Saudi Arabia. Pudjobroto said the airline flew to Jeddah five times a week and to Riyadh three times a week.

Japan and South Korea have recently conducted spot checks on Garuda Indonesia airplanes flying to both countries and declared them safe.

Visiting New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark may give a much needed boost to Indonesian airlines as she will fly on a Garuda Indonesia flight to Yogyakarta from Jakarta this week.

Meanwhile, Bambang said that the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group (ATWG) had invited EU representatives to attend the group's working meeting in Denpasar from July 17 to 20 to discuss issues on Indonesian airline safety.

"We will elaborate on the travel ban and the improvement of local airline safety further with the EU, which is the group's special guest at the meeting," he said.

ATWG will also discuss several civil aviation issues, such as an open-sky policy and multilateral agreements between airlines. The group has also invited partners from outside the region, from India, Japan and the U.S.

RI aviation industry unsafe: Experts

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA: The visiting U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has found that the growth of Indonesia's aviation industry has not been balanced by the readiness of the regulators, Director General of Air Transportation Budhi M. Suyitno said Thursday.

"Most of the problems concern administrative matters with some technical problems, particularly safety. One is the imbalance between growth and the readiness of its regulators," Budhi said, as quoted by Antara news wires.

The FAA team arrived here several days ago and is spending a month auditing the country's aviation industry, maintenance facilities and the condition of its airports.

All Indonesian carriers have been banned from flying to Europe by the European Commission after a string of accidents.

Rp900 Billion for Sidoarjo Infrastructure Repairs

Thursday, 12 July, 2007 | 16:27 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government has officially proposed the budget for repairing infrastructure ruined by the Lapindo hot mudflows to be Rp900 billion.

The statement was included in the 2007 Revised State Budget Draft and the posts will be the Public Works Department and Transportation Department’s expenditure.

Anggito Abimanyu, Head of Fiscal Policy at Finance Department, explained that such amount of budget was resulted from the estimation of road and railway infrastructure repairs needed.

“Our capability this year is now only Rp900 billion,” he said after a working meeting with the Budget Committee on 2007 Revised State Budget Draft at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Tuesday night (11/7).

He acknowledged that actually the need of infrastructure rehabilitation was much higher than Rp900 billion.

“But this is to be discussed later,” said Anggito.

In the 2007 Revised State Budget Draft, he said, for handling the damage due to Lapindo mudflow, the proposal was combined with the Public Works Department’s and Transportation Department’s infrastructure repair program.

The amount of the two departments’ needs totals Rp5 trillion.

The consideration for granting the funds, said Anggito, refers to the aspect of respective regional economic interests.

This is because infrastructure is a vital matter as regards regional economic support.

“For Lapindo (case), this is special for infrastructure. For the others, there’s none,” he said.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the funds for infrastructure rehabilitation due to the Lapindo mudflows is what caused the 2007 budget’s deficit to soar from Rp40.5 trillion, or from 1.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to Rp62 trillion or 1.6 percent of GDP.

“Infrastructure repairs in Sidoarjo are very urgent for moving the economy so the allocation must be included in the 2007 Revised State Budget Draft,” she said.

Infrastructure repairs in Sidoarjo include the Porong-Gempol toll road, non-toll artery roads and railways.

Anton Aprianto | Rieka Rahadiana

Automobile sales jump 60% in June

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post) : Domestic vehicle sales increased by 60 percent to 39,423 in June from 24,566 in the same month last year.

The increase was in line with semester-to-semester sales growth of 32 percent to 197,320 units in the first semester of the year compared with 149,634 during the same period of 2006, said Toyota Astra Motor president director Johnny Darmawan on Wednesday.

"This increase indicates an improvement in Indonesia's economy," he said.

Toyota still led the market with a 33.8 percent share in June. It sold 13,307 vehicles during the month, an increase of 54 percent from 8,646 units in the same month last year.

Its first-semester sales, however, rose by only 11 percent to 69,092 units from 61,805 in the January-June period of 2006.

Automotive firms sold a total of 318,884 vehicles in Indonesia last year. Johnny said that he was optimistic the number would increase to around 410,000 in 2007.

Organda, weather agency recruited for transportation safety campaign

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Transportation Ministry says it will include the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) and the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) in its land and sea transportation safety campaign.

"Our program now involves suppressing the number of transportation accidents over all modes of transportation," said Transportation Minister Jusman S. Djamal on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media after a meeting with House legislators on transportation affairs, Jusman said the ministry would collaborate with Organda in managing land transportation.

"Stricter monitoring of the implementation of transportation regulations will have to be applied. We don't want a bus to endanger the lives of people because it has no brakes or runs with slippery tires," the minister said, referring to a fatal bus accident last Saturday.

The brakes on the speeding bus carrying school children in Cianjur regency, West Java, failed before the vehicle careered off a bridge, killing 16.

"Although it hasn't been reported much in the media, there have been many efforts from (the ministry) to improve land transportation safety. In many areas, we also collaborate with the police," Jusman said.

Efforts to improve land transportation safety have included a focus on qualitative rather than quantitative credentials in selecting shuttle bus operators for routes to and from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Qualitative criteria for the upcoming airport route tender include the ability to provide good, cheap services to passengers and pass gas emission and vehicle age tests.

Jusman added that monitoring adherence to safety measures by sea transportation operators is easier than for land transportation operators as harbor captains watch over operations at sea.

"To improve sea transportation, we will collaborate with BMG for morning weather warnings. If there are huge waves of about four to six meters high, the agency will report to us in the morning," he said.

Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) chairman Bambang Susantono told The Jakarta Post that collaboration with other organizations in gathering secondary data was normal practice in foreign governments.

"Data from other sources is important to prevent accidents from occurring," he said.

Bambang said accident prevention, or "active safety measures", can be difficult to orchestrate because they often involve multiple organizations. "The first step to take is to identify possible aspects of accidents before constructing such prevention methods."

The transportation society believes that the long-term goal of active safety should be balanced with short-term passive safety goals. The challenge, according to MTI, is in coordination and organizational management itself.

Fuel shortage hits Jambi city

JAMBI (The Jakarta Post), Jambi province: A fuel shortage has affected Jambi city, the capital of Jambi province, for the past four days, resulting in long lines at the city's gas stations.

The shortage has seen the retail price of gasoline soar from Rp 4,500 (50 US cents) per liter to Rp 6,000.

"The fuel shortage is the result of a 50 percent cut in fuel supplies to all gas stations in the city," Kadir, the manager of the Kebunjeruk gas station, said Wednesday.

He said his station, which normally receives a supply of 40 tons of gas per day, is now only getting 20 tons.

The gas sells out within hours, he said.

Head of the Kasang fuel depot owned by state oil company Pertamina, Adnan Zhodhy, said there had been delivery delays from the depot to gas stations in Jambi because of the low water level of the Batanghari River.

Boats used to transport the fuel are unable to berth near the depot, he said.

Jakarta moves on deep-tunnel project

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post) : Governor Sutiyoso briefed Vice President Jusuf Kalla Wednesday over the planned deep tunnel project aimed at resolving chronic water and transportation problems in the capital.

"If the government agrees with the project, we will start construction next year," he told reporters after the meeting.

He said that the 22-kilometer tunnel would also solve flooding in the capital.

"Seeing the many functions of the tunnel, we will push the central government so that the project can be realized," he said.

According to the project designed by the Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Body, the tunnel, with a diameter of 12 meters, will be built 15 meters below the West Flood Canal from Jl. MT Haryono in East Jakarta to Muara Angke in West Jakarta.

The administration will then construct two levels of roads in the tunnel as well as waste water reservoirs.

Above the roads, the tunnel will be used as a utility duct.

Sutiyoso has briefed members of the House of Representatives and the City Council on the project.