Pertamina to Build Gas Station for Fishermen

Tempo Interactive, Wednesday, 17 February, 2010 | 15:50 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:This year, state-run oil company Pertamina will build 400 Solar Packed for Fishermen (SPDN) or gas stations in regencies and fish production centers. The policy was to address the low number of SPDNs, especially in remote islands.

“Next week we will have a meeting with the relevant offices for an overall decision. Pertamina will be in charge of the implementation,” said Maritime and Fishery Minister Fadel Muhammad, following a meeting with Pertamina directors in Jakarta, yesterday.

Fadel said the construction will be based on a new concept, namely the minapolitan concept, which applies to a large fish producing area needing a larger fuel supply. “The large fish producing area is called minapolitan,” Fadel said.

That is why there is no standard on how much allocation fuel would be supplied to one SPDN because there is a different quota for each SPDN. Fadel said fishermen are asked to unload their catches at a specified area.

The amount of their catch will determine the fuel quota. “In this way, people can longer need to buy and sell in the sea,” he said. “So far, when they go home with empty catch, the fuel is empty, too. There is something wrong with this.”

RATNANING ASIH