Shell wants clarity on govt rules for sale of subsidized fuels

Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The local arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc., PT Shell Indonesia, said Friday that it would require clarification of the government's rules on the sale of subsidized fuels before it would get involved in the sector.

"We welcome the government's plan to encourage new players in the subsidized fuel distribution business, and if the regulations turn out to be appropriate and provide a level playing field, we will be interested," the newly-appointed president director of Shell Indonesia, Darwin Silalahi, told reporters Friday on the sidelines of the launching of the company's corporate social responsibility program, Shell LiveWIRE.

Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) head Tubagus Haryono said recently that his agency was studying the possibility of relaxing the existing regulations so as to allow private sector firms to sell subsidized gasoline, which accounts for about 95 percent of the country's fuel sales.

Without changes to the regulations, it will be difficult for the new players to become involved in the distribution of subsidized fuels.

However, many in the industry doubt that the government is really serious about relaxing the regulations.

The government removed Pertamina's monopoly over the sale of oil-based fuels in 2005, but the state-owned oil and gas firm retains control over the subsidized-fuel market as, according to the government, the new entrants are unable to satisfy the set requirements. As a result, they are currently only allowed to sell non-subsidized high octane fuels.

Subsidized fuels include Premium gasoline, kerosene and diesel used by motorists, households and small businesses.

Besides waiting for clarification over the government's plans for the sale of subsidized fuels, Darwin said that Shell would also need to investigate further its economic feasibility, even though he acknowledged,"it would be a great opportunity for us to carve out a market beyond what we already have."

Shell currently sells non-subsidized fuels under the trade names Shell Super and Shell Super Extra, and high-quality Shell Diesel, in 10 Shell gas stations in Greater Jakarta.

Shell was the first foreign company to enter Indonesia's retail gasoline business. Following Shell's arrival, Malaysian state oil and gas firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd. (Petronas) has also set up shop here and currently operates two gas stations. It plans to open 21 more this year in Jakarta.

A number of global oil giants, including U.S.-based oil company Chevron, and France's oil giant, Total, are in the process of securing licenses from the government. Shell is also set to expand its business by establishing gas stations outside Java

It'll be tough to jumpstart classic car after 50-year burial

CNN.com

Story Highlights

• Car covered in rust, couldn't be started; objects in other time capsule OK
• A crane lifted Plymouth Belvedere from its capsule before onlookers in Tulsa
• Workers earlier this week found classic auto sitting in water in a concrete vault
• Car buried in 1957 in vault billed as strong enough to withstand nuclear attack

Organizers of Friday's unveiling found that the car's
vault may have been built to withstand a nuclear attack,
but it couldn't guard against moisture.

Another 1957 Belvedere, the same model as the
one that was buried under the Tulsa, Oklahoma,
courthouse lawn 50 years ago, is on display in the city Friday.

TULSA, Oklahoma (AP) -- Calling it "our King Tut's tomb," thousands of people watched as a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere was pulled from the ground where it had been buried for 50 years as a time capsule of American Midwest culture.

The concrete vault encasing the car may have been built to withstand a nuclear attack, but it couldn't keep away water.

At Friday's ceremony, protective wrapping was removed to show the mud-caked vintage vehicle covered in rust. Shiny chrome was still visible around the doors and front fender, and workers were able to put air in the tires.

"I'll tell you what, she's a mess. Look at her," said legendary car builder Boyd Coddington, who was unable to start the car as planned.

From the trunk, organizers pulled out some of the objects buried to celebrate Oklahoma's 50 years of statehood -- a 5-gallon can of leaded gasoline, which went for 24 cents a gallon in those days, and rusted cans of Schlitz beer.

The contents of a "typical" woman's handbag, including 14 bobby pins, lipstick and a bottle of tranquilizers, were supposed to be in the glove box, but all that was found looked like a lump of rotted leather.

Workers also searched for a spool of microfilm that recorded the entries of a contest to determine who would win the car. The person who guessed the closest of what Tulsa's population would be in 2007 -- 382,457 -- would win. So far, all they found were guesses of the population written on postcards.

That person, or his or her heirs, will get the car by June 22, along with a $100 savings account, which is worth about $1,200 today with interest.

A separate time capsule buried with the car was opened, and organizers removed and unfolded an unfaded American flag. Other historical documents, aerial maps of the city and postcards were in good condition.

"We don't care what condition it's in," said Bob Petri. "It's just the whole idea somebody thought of it in 1957 and here we are living it."

RI, US end int`l workshop on disaster response

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Armed Forces Headquarters and US Pacific Command ended a five-day international workshop on disaster response here on Friday.

Called MPAT TEMPEST EXPRESS-12 Staff Planning Workshop, the activity focused on a Government of Indonesia-led response to a simulation natural disaster in western Java affecting Jakarta, the US Embassy said in a press release issued on Friday.

The primary goals of the event were among others to better understand planning of major civilian-led humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, improve civil-military cooperation among the various organizations involved in disaster response, and build on the Indonesian government and military disaster response experience and procedures, it said.

Govt to tighten freight capacity rule

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government plans to tighten the weight limit for trucks in an effort to increase highway safety and reduce road damage.

A spokesman for the Directorate General of Land Transportation at the Transportation Ministry, Djoko Sulaksono, said that while trucks were currently allowed to go over their carrying capacity by 90 percent -- so a truck with a capacity of 1 ton can carry up to 1.9 tons -- this would be reduced to 60 percent.

"In the past we tolerated overweight freighters because of the economy of scale. However, many overweight trucks have damaged roads and bridges across the country," he said Thursday.

He told The Jakarta Post that overweight freighters would now have to go back to their departure point or leave some of their load at warehouses at checking stations equipped with scale floors.

Scale floors, used to weigh vehicles and their cargoes, are installed at 130 checking stations across Indonesia. However, not all stations have warehouses to store excess cargo.

Several scale floors are managed by private companies, which the ministry believes are better at monitoring excess cargo.

"On Saturday, all heads of the provincial transportation agencies will meet in Merak, Banten, to assess progress on the monitoring measure. Of course we'd like to reach 0 percent excess but we have to do it gradually to be effective," Djoko said.

"The transportation chiefs would like to reach 30 percent of tolerance for the next phase if possible."

In 2005, transportation officials met in Bandung to discuss the issue. They all agreed that simultaneous action needed to be taken on overweight inter-province trucks to increase safety and reduce road damage.

"Since the Bandung meeting and greater monitoring efforts, the roads were less damaged this year compared to the years before," Djoko said.

"The Highway Directorate General at the Public Works Ministry has measured that the maximum tolerance our road infrastructure can take is 25 percent."

Djoko added that his office had encouraged companies to use other transportation means, such as rail or sea, although trucks have maintained their popularity because they are able to reach remote areas.

Traffic division head at the Directorate General of Land Transportation Hotma Simanjuntak told the Post that the monitoring was at its busiest in Java and Sumatra. "Trucks planning to drop their loads could call another truck to pick up the cargo at the station," he said.

Previously, Director General of Land Transportation Iskandar Abubakar said that the amendment of the land transportation law should include punishments for truck owners. Currently only truck drivers are fined for overweight trucks.

Tangerang to explore water taxi system

The Jakarta Post

TANGERANG: The Tangerang municipal administration plans to develop a water taxi system along the Cisadane River, in imitation of Jakarta's water taxi pilot project.

The head of the municipal trade and industry agency, Dafiar E. Hardian, said the water taxi would be a profitable enterprise.

"Water transport in Tangerang carries a lot of potential for development... The Cisadane, the upper course of which reaches Bogor in West Java, runs through both the regency and the municipality of Tangerang," he told journalists Thursday.

The Tangerang city administration is currently studying an action plan that would include escalating several bridges over the river.

Kebayoran Lama tunnel project end in sight

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA: Construction work on the Pondok Indah-Kebayoran Lama underpass in South Jakarta is scheduled to be complete by October.

"The trial will be in September," the head of the bridges subdivision at the Jakarta Public Works Agency, Novrizal, said Thursday as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com.

The project, carried out by developer PT Waskita Karya, started in 2005 with the excavation of two junctions under the Cipulir overpass.

The second phase, which started in 2006, demolished two other junction points on Jl. Gandaria and Jl. Bungur.

The total cost for the projects is estimated to reach Rp 92 billion.

The first overpass will open at the end of this month, Novrizal said.

Garuda mulling reopening routes to Amsterdam and Nagoya

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is considering reopening routes to Amsterdam and Nagoya, and starting a new service to India next year so as to jack up revenue from international flights, which contributed 45 percent of its income in 2006.

Garuda spokesman Pujobroto said the carrier was now studying what needed to be done to improve its services, including the use of newer aircraft and expanding promotion to business passengers.

"We terminated our service to Amsterdam at the end of 2004 because it wasn't competitive and was losing money. Now, we are considering reopening it with improved efficiency and profitability," said Pujobroto on Wednesday.

"Amsterdam is actually a highly prospective market in Europe."

Besides Amsterdam, Garuda also closed its routes to London and Paris in 2004.

It closed its service to Nagoya after the second Bali bombing in 2004 caused a collapse in the number of Japanese passengers, leaving it with only two destinations in Japan -- Tokyo and Osaka.

"As the Japanese market has been showing an improvement, we're studying the possibility of also reopening the route to Nagoya."

Regarding a service to India, he said that Garuda had yet to select a destination in that country.

Besides reopening old routes and establishing new ones, Garuda will also increase the frequency of its flights to a number of existing destinations.

Agus Priyanto, Garuda executive vice president for sales and marketing, said the new and reopened routes would boost the contribution of international services to Garuda's earnings to 50 percent in 2008.

Garuda currently serves 27 domestic and 24 international routes. According to Pujobroto, routes to the Middle East, Japan and Australia are the most profitable of all of the airline's international routes.

Pujobroto said Garuda was targeting a profit of Rp 45 billion (US$5 million) in 2007 after suffering losses for the past three years -- it lost Rp 800 billion in 2004, Rp 688 billion in 2005 and Rp 197 billion in 2006.

During the first four months of this year alone, the flag carrier had made a Rp 121 billion profit, as compared to a loss of Rp 279 billion during the same period last year.

The improved performance, according to Pujobroto, is due to various programs instituted by Garuda, including strengthening its subsidiaries, and improved productivity and efficiency.

Garuda currently operates 49 aircraft, consisting of three Boeing 747-400s, six Airbus 330s, 19 B737-400s, 14 B737-300s, five B737-500s and two B737NGs. It also has 25 B737NGs and 10 B787 Dreamliners on order, which are expected to start flying in 2009.

Bali's Ngurah Rai best airport in RI

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA: The Directorate General of Air Transportation at the Transportation Ministry released on Tuesday the results of its audit of the nation's airports, with Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport topping the list as the country's best.

After Ngurah Rai, the runners-up were Soekarno-Hatta in Cengkareng, Banten; Juanda in Surabaya; Polonia in Medan, North Sumatra and Hasanuddin in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The directorate general ranked the airports based on several criteria such as compliance to regulations, security, safety and comfort levels for passengers.

Ngurah Rai received a compliant score of 84, while Soekarno-Hatta received an 82, Juanda a 73, Polonia a 70 and Hasanuddin a 64. -- JP

Water taxi hours extended after weekend success

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite a few flaws, public reaction to the city's new water taxis has been enthusiastic, with the administration announcing plans to extend their operating hours.

"The number of passengers on the water taxis in the first two days of their operation, Saturday and Sunday, reached 930 people," agency head Nurrachman told reporters at City Hall on Monday.

He added that the agency was planning to add two more hours for the operation of the two water taxis, up from the current four hours. The taxis, launched last Wednesday by Governor Sutiyoso, currently run from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m on Saturday and Sunday.

The water taxis ply a 1.7-kilometer route from Halimun, South Jakarta, to Karet, Central Jakarta, along the Ciliwung River."To anticipate the high demand of passengers, we will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., maybe starting next week," he said.

He said most passengers took a round trip on the water taxis that cost them Rp 3,000 (US33 cents) per person.

"That means most of them rode the taxis for fun," he said.

He said that there were still several problems in the operation of the taxis, such as the garbage floating in the river and the changes made to the river's depth by opening and closing the sluice gates.

He added that the agency was also planning to change the boats currently used as water taxis because the boats currently in use were formerly used to transport people from Jakarta Bay to Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Islands), and were not specifically designer for rivers.

The boats, Kerapu III and Kerapu VI, have a maximum capacity of 28 people each.

The city administration launched water taxis to introduce a new mode of transportation to help alleviate Jakarta's traffic congestion.

It also hopes to teach resident not to throw garbage in the river because it can hamper the operation of the taxis.

Nurrachman said that the transportation agency and the public works agency were evaluating the possibility of making another water taxi route along the Angke River.

"There is a possibility to open a route along Angke River, at least from Pesing, West Jakarta to Teluk Gong, North Jakarta," he said.

More die at accident plagued building site

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For South Jakarta's One Pacific Place high-rise building project, three is certainly not a lucky number. Three accidents on the construction site have taken three lives and injured several others in just three weeks.

In the latest fatal accident late Thursday night, two men were killed and two others injured when scaffolding on the building collapsed, police said.

The remains of the workers, identified as Tugiyo, 40, and Lamijo, 40, were taken home Friday to Gerobokan, Central Java. Two survivors, Lili, 29 and Kasmijo, 29, went home with minor injuries.

The scaffolding incident was the second mishap to strike the project after a collapsing crane killed a security guard passing near the site three weeks ago. The police have named the crane operator a suspect in the incident.

A third accident occurred at 3 a.m. Friday when the sling of a crane rack broke, forcing several workers riding in the cart to break glass windows to escape from the precariously dangling cabin.

No official reports have been filed over the last accident.

Kebayoran Baru police, who oversee the local area, have questioned witnesses and injured victims from the first two accidents.

"We also questioned project supervisor Sugiyanto to find out who was responsible for the (scaffolding) accident," the head of the subprecinct's criminal unit, First Insp. Heru Ruspiandi, said Friday.

He said police would also summon PT Ascet, the contractor that installed the scaffolding.

If an investigation found the accidents were caused by negligence, suspects could be charged with a maximum of five years imprisonment, he added.

According to Heru, the accident happened when the scaffolding where Tugiyo and Lamijo were working collapsed, smashing another one under it where Lili and Kasmijo were working.

"We found the upper scaffolding smashed at the 8th floor and the other stuck on the 27th floor, where Lili and Kasmijo were still hanging alive," he said.

Heru added that police would recommend the Manpower Agency issue a warning to PT Ascet, the building's manager, to pay serious attention to the safety of the site.

"(Getting contractors to prioritize safety) is hard, unless (a project) is controlled by foreigners," said a supervisor for mechanic and electrical installment at a construction site near the One Pacific Place complex.

The supervisor, who asked to remain anonymous, said he found many locally-backed projects did not regard safety as an important issue.

Indonesian Society of Civil and Structural Engineers chairman Davy Sukamta said that probable cause of the recent incidents could be based in the project's work safety system.

According to Davy, work safety plans should deal with every detail to avoid accidents involving workers and the public.

"When we're talking about incidents involving heavy equipment, it's because of old age and a lack of maintenance," Davy said.

"If the equipment was in normal and proper condition, it would not have collapsed."

Davy said head contractors should be held responsible for every accident that occurred at construction sites.

"They are the ones responsible for choosing subcontractors," he said.

He said the first crane accident at One Pacific Place could have been avoided by either temporarily blocking off traffic or working at night.

"The construction company was already aware of the degree of danger of such heavy work so it should have tried every possible way to minimize it," he said.

More busway routes to be built August

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post) : The city administration's plan for 10 busway corridors by the end of the year may come true after Jakarta Transportation Agency announced Thursday that three new corridors would be built in August.

Agency head Nurrachman said the tender for the construction of the lanes was expected to be complete by the end of this month and construction could begin in August.

The three new corridors will link Lebak Bulus with Harmoni, Pinang Ranti with Pluit and Cililitan with Tanjung Priok.

"For the lane construction we have allocated Rp 180 billion (about US$22 million) from the provincial budget and all lanes will hopefully be ready by the end of this year," Nurrachman said.

Nurrachman said his agency would ensure the planned construction would not cause greater traffic congestion in areas also currently affected by the construction of underpasses.

"We can reroute some of the traffic in several areas and give prior notification so people can anticipate the construction work," he said as quoted by the city's official website BeritaJakarta.com.

The new corridors are expected to begin operation on Jan. 1, 2008. Each corridor will have 15 to 20 bus stops. --JP

Air Traffic Controller Urges Single Air Service

Friday, 08 June, 2007 | 14:39 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Indonesian Air Traffic Controllers Association (IATCA) urged the realization of having single provider service for all Indonesian air territories. The aim is harmonization of aviation navigation service in Indonesia.

IATCA's President, Adri Gunawan Wibisono, said that aviation navigation service carried out by several service controller units like now causes impediments in terms of coordination. “Every unit has different priorities,” he said during a hearing with the House's Transportation Commission at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, yesterday (7/6).

The hearing was held to gather input for the revision of Decree No. 15/1992 on Aviation.

Indonesia's air traffic service is currently executed by the Transportation Department's Technical Executing Unit; PT Angkasa Pura I; PT Angkasa Pura II; Otorita Batam and private parties.

Coordination is an important matter, said Adri, bearing in mind plane movement flow in the future.

Currently there are 52 domestic and 52 international flight routes crossing Indonesia's air territories.

Adri said the single provider has been recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). “In any country, (the provider) is single. Only us, not yet,” he said.

According to him, the apt agency to accommodate single air traffic is a state-owned enterprise. The reason is to simplify bureaucracy. In the meantime, the formation of a public service agency, which was recommended by the Transportation Department, is regarded as causing service quality to decrease. This is because a public service agency will unite the functions of regulator, auditor and operator under one institution.

The Transportation Department has already planned to unite the air traffic service.

Deputy Chairperson of the Transportation Commission, Hardisusilo said that the single provider matter will be included in the inventory. “It depends on factions, their attitude,” he said.

Harun Mahbub

Indonesia, China forging closer economic ties

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and economic giant China are forging closer economic ties with Beijing moving to realize various investment projects worth a total of US$800 million in Indonesia.

The realization of the economic cooperation between the two countries which has been running well got an impetus when Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla made a six-day visit to China from June 6 to 11.

"The vice president`s visit to China is expected to increase the two countries` economic cooperation," chief of the Indonesian embassy`s economic section in Beijing Andriana Supandy said.

Kalla`s agenda included talks with executives of Chinese state-owned companies which had investment project schemes in Indonesia such as Sino-Hydro and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

"China has a lot of opportunities to increase its investment in Indonesia as both nations` economic relations are now increasing," the vice president said at a meeting with Chinese Communist Party Secretary General for Unnan province, Bai Enpei.

Indonesian Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto who accompanied the vice president during his tour of China hoped that the meeting between Kalla and Chinese business officials would expedite the implementation of various Chinese-funded projects in Indonesia.

Indonesia and Sino-Hydro, for example, signed a work contract on April 30, 2007, for the construction of the Jatigede dam project in West Java. Work on the dam is expected to be begin on June 30, 2007.

China has made a loan commitment worth US$800 million for different projects in Indonesia, of which US$250 million are designed for construction of the Jatigede dam in Cirebon, West Java.

The rest of the loan would be used for double-track railway projects, thermal power plants and road construction.

Minister Djoko Kirmanto hoped that the meeting between the vice president and Sino-Hydro executives would expedite the realization of the Jatigede dam project.

With the Chinese financial assistance, construction of the Jatigede dam was expected to proceed smoothly in order to contain rain water for irrigation or for generating electricity.

He said Cirebon district and its surrounding areas were often hit by floods during the rainy season and scarcity of water during the dry spells. That`s why, he added, it needed a dam to contain water when rain falls.

The minister said the design and blueprint of the dam had been made while construction which be started after the Chinese funs had been isursed.

The other sector of cooperation included investment in railway projects.

The vice president held a meeting with China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) to discuss the company`s plan to build a 517-kilometer-long railway track in Central Kalimantan province, she said.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the project was signed recently by Central Kalimantan Governor Teras Narang and CREC`s management while Vice President Jusuf Kalla was slated to talk about the financial scheme for the purpose.

In the energy sector, the vice president had a meeting with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to discuss a plan to ship LNG (liquefied natural gas) amounting to 2.6 million metric tons from Papua Province (Indonesia) to Fujian Province (China).

The LNG supply cooperation would last for 25 years starting in 2009 as demand for LNG in Fujian kept on increasing.

During his visit, the vice president and Chinese officials also discussed the establishment of a 10,000-megawatt power plant as many Chinese companies had won tenders in the project.

In terms of investment, China is now the fifth biggest investor country in Indonesia with an investment worth US$7.4 billion.

Chinese investment in Indonesia, excluding those in the gas and oil sectors, reached US$170 million (38 projects) in 2003, and it rose to US$205 million (80 projects) in 2005.

Indonesia`s investment in China was recorded at US$100.8 million with 115 projects in 2006.

The vice president also focused his attention on increasing trade between the two nations.

Kalla said the aim of his meeting with executives of Chinese companies was to increase the trade volume and investment of both countries.

According to the chairman of the Indonesian Commerce and Industry (Kadin), MS Hidayat, the vice president`s visit was part of Indonesia`s efforts to achieve the target of US$30 billion two-trade between Jakarta and Beijing launched by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jinato, in April 2005 in Jakarta.

The trade target was inseparable from the frame of strategic cooperation which basically calls for the two countries to expand cooperation in all fields, he said.

Two-way trade between Indonesia and China tripled to US$19.06 billion in 2006 from US$6.7 billion in 2001.

Chinese rail firm eyes putting Riau province on track

Riyadi Suparno, The Jakarta Post/Beijing

After failing to secure a double-track railway project from Cirebon to Kroya in Java, the China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) is now eyeing even bigger projects in Riau and Central Kalimantan.

CREC president Li Changjin met Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Riau Governor Rusli Zainal here on Thursday to discuss the possibility of the company building a new 400-kilometer rail line in Riau, linking Dumai, Duri, Pekanbaru, Taluk Kuantan and Muaro in Jambi.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Rusli said that CREC had come up with a pricing scheme for the project -- US$15 million per kilometer -- with trains able to travel at up to 250 kilometers per hour. This means the total cost of the project would be US$6 billion."But that's for a line capable of carrying trains at 250 kilometers per hour. We don't need trains traveling at that speed. Half of that would be enough for us, and this would mean the cost would be roughly about half of the originally estimate, which would be acceptable to us," Rusli said.

In addition to CREC, Rusli said that a German engineering firm had also expressed interest in the project.

"Let's see what's the best offer they put on the table. In terms of technology, both the German and Chinese technology is good. Our concern now is about pricing," he said.

Last month, CREC, the biggest railway engineering company in China, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Central Kalimantan administration to build a 500-kilometer-long rail line in the province.

During Thursday's meeting, Li and Kalla discussed financing possibilities for the Central Kalimantan railway project. It is still not clear how much the project will cost, how it will be financed and when it might start.

Earlier, CREC had been selected to build a double-track rail line from Cirebon in West Java to Kroya in Yogyakarta, to be financed using loans from the Chinese government. However, the government decided that the pricing scheme proposed by CREC was too expensive.

Rusli said whichever company won the railway project in Riau would be required to also supply the funding, either from borrowing or from its government. While the overall scheme had still not been finalized, it would have to be in line with the newly-passed Railway Law.

When asked about funding, Rusli said that his administration needed to discuss this with the central government. He said Riau was ready to pay for part of the cost.

He said the Riau rail project was included on the central government's list of priority projects to be commenced in the near future.

"Last year, we had planned to make a budget allocation for the project, but as it had not yet been fully hammered out, we didn't proceed. However, we are ready to allocate the money as soon as the project is ready and on the table," he said.

Riau is one of the richest provinces in Indonesia. Half of the country's crude oil production of about 1 million barrels per day comes from Riau, and the provincial government receives a significant proportion of the revenues accruing from this from the central government.

When asked if a rail line was really needed in Riau, considering the sparseness of the province's population, Rusli said it would not only carry people, but also freight, particularly oil-palm kernels and timber for the province's pulp and paper mills.

Aviation industry pushes for end to pilot criminalization

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Pilots Federation is seeking to ensure that the aviation bill does not allow for the criminalization of pilots by police investigations into aviation accidents.

According to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations, investigations into aviation incidents must be carried out by an authorized body, not by criminal investigators.

Indonesia received an official protest from the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations after an Indonesian pilot reported the police investigation of two Garuda Indonesia pilots over the GA-200 airplane crash in Yogyakarta in March.

The president of the Indonesian Pilots Federation, Manotar Napitupulu, demanded that only National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) investigators be granted access to the scenes of airplane accidents.

"If KNKT finds any criminal element to the incident, then the police can come in. Indonesia is an adherent to the ICAO international convention, so we follow international regulations. This is also for the pilot's peace of mind," Manotar said after a hearing on the aviation bill conducted by the House of Representatives Commission V for transportation on Wednesday.

He added that the results of the commission's investigation should not be considered an automatic basis for the police to begin making arrests.

"The police should perform another investigation themselves, from the beginning, only if the commission finds evidence that a crime has occurred. That's the rule," Manotar said.

A pilot who spoke on condition of anonymity said police are not fully qualified to conduct investigations relating to civil aviation safety regulations, which, he added, could trigger "miscommunication" during investigations.

"If there is an incident and the police investigate, it will seem as though we are suspects of a crime. Receiving administrative punishment from the Transportation Ministry affects us enough psychologically, not to mention the threat of the police imprisoning us," he said.

He maintained that the two institutions should perform their investigations separately.

"If the police want to investigate, they should not investigate to determine the cause of the incident, but only to see if an operator has destroyed evidence or if there is any indication of criminal action, sabotage or explosive materials," he said.

Josef A. Nae Soi, a Golkar Party legislator, said that according to the Criminal Code, police had the right to investigate aviation accidents.

"We will adjust the aviation bill to comply with the international convention. We will refer to the existing Indonesian law and make sure it doesn't run against international regulations," Josef said.

Sea transit bill awaits new safety information

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Transportation Ministry has said that the draft of the sea transportation bill is almost complete and is only waiting on safety information.

"We are gathering a list of crucial problems before we can formulate any amendments to the sea transportation bill draft," Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal told reporters on Wednesday.

"The draft is about 60 to 70 percent complete."

Jusman added that the sea transportation bill could not be deliberated simultaneously with the aviation bill at the House.

"They should be deliberated in a series. Judging from their content and entry, the sea transportation bill has the priority."

Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said that once the draft was submitted there would be no retraction of the bill.

"There will be only progress instead of retreat," he said.

The Indonesian Transport Community had earlier said that many sea accidents occurred because of the incompetence of the crew, particularly captains. Many ships were also too old to be running, it said.

A legislator from House's Commission V overseeing transportation affairs, Abdullah Aswar Anas, told The Jakarta Post that the House would discuss the aviation bill first because the sea transportation bill was not yet ready.

"We are ready to deliberate the sea transportation bill. However, we will wait until the new minister understands the content of the sea transportation draft," said Aswar, who represents the National Awakening Party.

Jusman said that in order to increase aviation security and safety, airport operators should create a detailed road map according to international safety standards.

"Dangerous goods should be segregated to increase security. In safety, motorcycles should be banned from entering specific areas of the airport," he said.

"Local airports also have to be classified by the international industry as safe."

As for new commercial airlines, such as Lorena Air, which is due to begin operation soon, Jusman said that airlines should compete with each other in a good way.

"Don't just drop the ticket prices and disregard safety issues," he said.

Toyota hybrid sales top one million mark

Tokyo (ANTARA News) - Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday that sales of its fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles had topped one million since they were first introduced a decade ago.

It took the Japanese auto giant about eight years to sell its first half million hybrids but less than two years after that to hit the one-million mark, AFP reported.

Toyota, which overtook struggling US rival General Motors in the first quarter of 2007 to become the world's top-selling automaker, said in a statement it aimed to sell one million hybrids a year by the early 2010s.

The Japanese group first launched the Prius -- the world's first mass-produced hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle -- in Japan in 1997, followed by North America, Europe and elsewhere in 2000.

It has since introduced the system to sports utility vehicles (SUVs), mini-vans and other vehicles.

Japanese automakers have struggled to keep pace with demand for their petrol-electric hybrids, particularly in the United States where interest in fuel-guzzling vehicles has been hit by soaring gasoline (petrol) prices.

But US sales have stagnated just as Toyota ramped up production and the automaker has begun resorting to special deals to attract customers once willing to wait months for a vehicle that became a status symbol among the environmentally-conscious.

Toyota said that had owners of its hybrids bought petrol-powered vehicles of a similar size and performance instead, an additional 3.5 million tons of greenhouse gas would have been released into the Earth's atmosphere.

Car sales to reach 40,000 units a month

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The director general of transportation, telecommunications, information equipment industries, Budi Dharmadi, said here on Tuesday he believed car sales in Indonesia would reach 40,000 units a month between June and December as indicated by increasing demand under the downpayment scheme.

He said although sales had reached only 35,000 units a month in the past two months they had been predicted to increase and may even exceed 40,000 units a month.

"It has hit the ceiling now," he said, adding in 2005 the sales reached 45,000 units a month.

He said with the increasing buying power of the people, and the declining key interest rates and the impact of the 2005 fuel price hike, he predicted the sales may reach 40,000 units a month.

"Moreover many producers are now offering new gimmicks and discounts," he said.

He said car sales in the country were still dominated by below 1.500 cc MPVs and SUVs.

He said in the first semester last year, the car sales reached around 160,000 units, and was optimistic they could reach 190,000 to 200,000 units in the same period this year.

He believed sales would reach 200,000 units in the second semester this year bringing total sales to 400,000 units.

He said many automotive companies were interested in building assembly plants in the country in view of the increasing sales.

"Some are considering it while others have already sent a team to study such project," he said referring among others to Fiat which was still considering such project, while Daihatsu had already ask for an expansion permit.

He said many automotive principals were eyeing Indonesia because cars produced in this country were also exported while some large principals already had confidence in the country`s automotive industry`s capability.

"Therefore premium cars like Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Toyota, are assembled here," he said.

Brazil engineers try boosting ethanol's efficiency

Mon Jun 4, 2007 5:20 PM ET

By Terry Wade

SAO PAULO, June 4 (Reuters) - Brazilian automotive engineers are working to design engines that burn ethanol as efficiently as gasoline, as more of their technologies are adopted by countries turning to biofuels.

"The local technology is serving as a foundation," Fabio Ferreira, head of applied engineering in Brazil for Germany's Robert Bosch GmBH , which makes fuel injectors, said on Monday. "The alcohol protected fuel injector was designed here and later was adopted worldwide."

Ethanol, or alcohol, can cause corrosion, which requires engine makers to use resistant materials for fuel tanks, intake and exhaust systems.

New engines sold in Brazil, called flex-fuel motors, run on any combination of ethanol, which is distilled from sugar cane, or gasoline.

Right now, a tank of pure ethanol runs out of fuel about 30 percent faster than one burning gasoline. Engineers want to close that gap.

More than 80 percent of new cars sold in Brazil have flex-fuel engines, which were introduced in 2003. Ethanol in Brazil, the world's biggest sugar cane grower, tends to be about half as expensive as gasoline.

All Brazilian gasoline stations sell pure ethanol, or gasoline that contains a mixture of about 20 percent ethanol.

Besides fuel injectors, automotive makers like Volkswagen and General Motors > are playing with turbos, variable valve timing, camshafts, fuel pumps, pre-heating for cold starting, spark plugs, faster computer chips and newer softwares to improve the efficiency of burning fuels containing alcohol.

They also say efficiency improves with the use of direct injection technology, in which fuel and air are mixed inside the engine instead of before they enter it.

Some gasoline stations in Sweden and the United States sell fuel that is 85 percent ethanol and more countries are expected to push the biofuel on concerns about global warming and renewable energy.

"Once ethanol is more widely distributed, our engine technology will become very important," Henry Joseph Jr., president of the commission on energy and the environment for Anfavea, the Brazilian association of automakers, said at a two-day ethanol summit in Sao Paulo, Brazil's business capital.

Garuda on track to post 2007 profit

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After booking Rp 121 billion (around US$14 million) in profit in the first four months of the year, national flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia is on course to post a profit this year, ending three years of losses and despite this year's Yogyakarta disaster in March.

"This is a good start to the year," Garuda spokesman Pujobroto said in a media statement Saturday.

With the January-April period considered as "low season", the carrier expects an even better performance for the rest of the year," he said.

Last year, Garuda's losses stood at Rp 298.3 billion, narrowing the Rp 688.5 billion booked in 2005.

Pujobroto attributed the profit mostly to an increase in its load factor and number of passengers from the same period last year.

Garuda's load factor rose seven percent from 69 percent, while the number of passengers rose by five percent from 2.684 million in the January-April period last year.

Of the total 28 domestic routes the carrier served during the period, only four experienced losses, the statement said.

As shareholders, the government is considering selling a stake in the carrier, partly to help improve its performance, as part of its privatization program this year.

Garuda has been reportedly in talks with several interested domestic and international investors.

Garuda today boasts 49 aircraft, including a Boeing 737-400 that arrived last week.

Its long-term development plan includes an ordered 25 Boeing 737NGs and 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliners which are expected to join the carrier in 2009, the statement said.

Villages get high-tech gear

The Jakarta Post

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: A package of telecommunication devices will be provided to 2,091 disadvantaged villages in 18 regencies in East Nusa Tenggara.

The assistance from the State Ministry of Communication and Information is intended to ease access to information and break down the isolation of the villages.

The head of information at the East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration, Ubaldus Gogi, said Tuesday that most of the villages are located in remote areas.

"The government has decided in the 2007 budget to provide them with telecommunication abilities to help the villagers ease their isolation and follow through with development," Ubaldus said.

He said the government is also planning to build television relay stations in four locations on the border with East Timor.

"Currently, there are still complaints from people living on the border that they find it hard to access information by television," he said. -- JP

Bali rebounds minus Aussies

Brisbanetimes

Hoteliers in Bali have blamed Qantas for sluggish bookings out of Australia, as travelers complain about a lack of flights to the increasingly upmarket resort island.

Some passengers have reported waiting months to get suitable flights, with Qantas and Garuda Indonesia slow to reinstate Australian services that were cut following the October 2005 bombings.

That terrorist attack, the second in three years, killed 20 people including four Australians and sparked mass booking cancellations.

Bali's tourism numbers have now bounced back and the island is shedding its reputation as a budget backpackers haunt.

Foreign arrivals rose 38 per cent to 472,082 during the first four months of this year 2007, marking the strongest start to any year on record.

However, Australian visitors dropped 36 per cent over the same period, in stark contrast to firm numbers from Japan, Europe and emerging markets like Russia.

Michael Burchett, chairman of the Bali Hotels Association and general manager of the Conrad Bali Resort & Spa, said the lack of airline capacity was the biggest hurdle to getting Australians back to Bali.

"The demand is there from Australia, but there's no interest or willingness from Qantas to resume flights," said Burchett, originally from Perth.

"You can't get a flight out of Perth for months, and if you're in Brisbane you have to go to Sydney or Melbourne.

"It's just ridiculous. Garuda is doing what it can, but it doesn't have the financial strength, so the Australian recovery has been hamstrung by the lack of support from Qantas.

"Well keep waving the white flag and maybe someone will see it soon."

Georgia Fell-Smith, an Australian spa consultant from Perth who lives in Bali, said the current situation posed problems.

"I always have trouble booking with Qantas," she said.

"The problem is I much prefer to fly with Qantas because of its strong safety record and the opportunity to earn frequent flyer points, but they make it so difficult because they only fly twice a week."

Fell-Smith was booked to fly back to Perth to search for a wedding dress on May 29, but canceled because she could not return to Bali on her desired dates with either Qantas or Garuda.

She will now make the trip in July, using a Qantas flight booked four months ago.

Qantas flies twice a week to Bali from Perth and Darwin, while its budget arm Jetstar flies twice a week from Melbourne and Sydney. Garuda flies every day from Perth, four times a week from Melbourne and Sydney, and twice a week from Darwin.

A Qantas spokesperson said an additional flight would be added to the Perth-Denpasar route between August 5 and October 21 this year, but there were no plans at this stage to expand services from any other cities.

"Qantas will continue to monitor the route and make changes as demand increases," the spokesperson said.

Collapsed Bali airline Air Paradise is reportedly looking at a comeback, while Singapore-based low-budget carrier Tiger Airways has also hinted at possible flights between Bali and Australia.

However, hoteliers said Australia needed a full-service airline to cater for higher-end tourists and business travellers who were finding a new, fashionable edge to the island.

Not far from Kuta's cheap bungalows and rowdy pubs, some hotels - like the exclusive Amandari and recently opened Bulgari Resort - charge thousands of dollars a night per room, and ferry passengers to the airport by helicopter, while restaurants in chic Seminyak do a brisk trade in French champagne and freshly shucked Sydney oysters.

"Rather than treating Bali as a cheap beach destination, the expansion of the luxury hotel and villa market shows it is anything but," said Adrian Forsyth, general manager of Kuta's mid-range Bali Garden Hotel.

"Bali is now a luxury destination and while tourism is returning to normal, the airlines have been slow to respond to that.

"We're grateful for Jetstar's entrance into the market, but Bali really needs Qantas to serve this higher-end clientèle, who are willing to pay Qantas rates and want Qantas-style service."

AAP

'Eretan': The original taxi for Jakarta's waterways

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Long before the city administration hatched its plan to operate water taxis on Jakarta's rivers, Jakarta residents had eretan.

Eretan are boats tied to metal cables that can carry around a dozen of people, or a few motorcycles and a few people, across the city's rivers.

"I've been ferrying people across the river for 10 years," said 56-year-old Kanam, one of more than 10 eretan operators on West Jakarta's Angke River.

He said he had no other source of income apart from operating the local eretan.

"If the city's water taxis operate on the Angke River then I'll lose my only livelihood, but I can't do anything if the administration bans me from working on this river," he said.

The Jakarta Public Works Agency is running a water taxi pilot project along the Ciliwung River for a 2-kilometer line serving Karet, Halimun and Dukuh Atas.

The agency plans to add another route along the Angke River in 2007. To do this, three bridges, at Genit, Pesing and Teluk Gong, will have to be raised to allow the taxis to pass beneath.

The head of water treatment and management division of the Public Works Agency, Suparman, said the Public Works Agency would have to coordinate with the transportation agency to carry out the project.

"We have not discussed if the eretan could stay in business when the water taxi starts operation... we're still concentrating on the pilot project on the Ciliwung River," he said.

The eretan helps many people living near the Angke River to avoid the daily traffic congestion caused in part by the administration's unfinished projects.

Jusiah, one eretan passenger, who lives in Pesing Poglar, West Jakarta, often crosses the river to Tubagus Angke when she wants to go downtown.

She said taking eretan saved her time, since she did not have to deal with the traffic involved with making a U-turn at Pesing Bridge, which is around 200 meters away Pesing Poglar.

Pesing Bridge is the only way for motorists from Cengkareng in Tangerang and Muara Kapuk and Kamal Muara in North Jakarta, to get to Kota in Central Jakarta or Grogol in West Jakarta. Genit Bridge, the only alternative route, is closed due to unfinished road work.

"Using the eretan is faster and cheaper," Jusiah said, saying it took her less than five minutes and Rp 500 (about US 6 cents) to cross the river.

She added that if she rode a bus or mini van, the trip would have taken her 10 to 20 minutes and cost her Rp 2,000.

Appalling traffic congestion can also be seen in the Teluk Gong, North Jakarta. The city administration has stopped building the Teluk Gong Bridge over the Angke River due to financial constraints.

And the administration does not seem to be in a hurry to fix the situation. "We should wait for the Transportation Agency to propose the project together with the water taxi," said Suparman.

Titi Sasmita, 44, a resident, said that the construction work was abandoned two years ago.

He said the city's plan to expand the water taxi route to Angke River was a good idea since there were many markets along the river.

"There'll be a lot of people interested in using (the water taxi) as long as the administration operates the water taxi seriously and fixes the condition of the area along the river," he said.

Progressive tax on old cars should be deferred, a NGO

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Transportation Ministry should defer the implementation of progressive tax on old and big-capacity cars as the public can still not rely on the existing public transportation system, Walhi, an environmentalist organization, said.

"The government should not impose progressive tax on old and big-capacity cars yet because it should restructure public transportation first," Slamet Daroyni, executive director of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said here Friday.

The progressive tax could reduce the number of private cars entering Jakarta and air pollution in Indonesia`s big cities but the policy would not solve the basic problems in the transportation sector, he said.

The lack of security, convenience and speed in public transportation had caused people to avoid using it, he said.

Slamet said official statements that the motive for introducing the progressive tax system was to reduce air pollution were to be doubted.

"I a more inclinded to believe that the progressive tax is designed just to increase the governement`s tax income," he said.

He expressed regret that the government lacked the political will to improve the public transportation system in Jakarta and that the Jakarta city administration had decided to widen busy Sudirman and Thamrin streets after the launching of the TransJakarta busway system.

The Jakarta Legislative Assembly`s plan to make six more toll roads within Jakarta proved that the government did not have any political will to reduce air pollution in the capital city, he said.

He also expressed regret that the government had asked automotive producers to make environment-friendly cars while failing to provide motorists with environment-friendly fuel.

Meanwhile, Iskandar Abubakar, the Transportation Ministry`s director general for land transportation, said last Wednesday the government intended to raise the tax on old cars and import duty on big-capacity cars to encourage people to use public transportation.