Marty, Hillary launch joint commission

Antara News, Saturday, September 18, 2010 11:49 WIB

New York (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched the US-Indonesia Joint Commission here on Thursday.

Led by the two foreign ministers, the commission would serve as a means of both nations in strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Marty and Clinton launched the Joint Commission after they had met at the office of US State Department.

The US-Indonesia Joint Commission was set up as part of both countries` commitment to increasing bilateral cooperation in the face of various challenges in the 21st century.

It was part of the two states` comprehensive partnership programs designed to reinforce bilateral cooperation in various fields to advance peace, stability and economic prosperity in Indonesia, the United States, the region and the world.

The establishment of the commission will be followed by the launching of a US-Indonesia Partnership Plan of Actions in the fields of politics, security, economy, science and technology.

Both foreign ministers emphasized that relations and friendship of Indonesia and the United States would be based on shared values such as tolerance, democracy, respect to human rights, diversity and and common efforts to advance economy.

In its implementation, the Action Plans of the US-Indonesia Joint Commission will be carried by working groups which would carry out strategic coordination, policy initiatives and decide scale priorities in various fields.

Indonesia’s Best Cyclists Head to Netherlands for Pre-Asiad Training Camp

Jakarta Globe, September 16, 2010

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Indonesia’s top riders are leaving no stone unturned in their Asian Games preparations, as they travel to the Netherlands to train for the Guangzhou, China, tournament.

Tonton Susanto and Santia Tri Kusuma, the country’s No. 1 cyclists in the men’s and women’s divisions respectively, will lead a five-strong Indonesia team for a training camp in Alkmaar expected to last six weeks or longer.

Completing the team are Ryan Ariehaan Hilmant, Yanthi Fuchiyanti and Wilhelmina Tutuarima. The team is taking a flight to the Netherlands today.

Tonton and Ryan will compete in the men’s road race in the Asian Games, while Santia and Yanthi will take part in the women’s track events.

Wilhelmina, a top junior prospect, joined the Alkmaar-bound team as part of the Indonesian Cycling Union’s (ISSI) youth development program.

Cycling team manager Denny Gumulya said the Netherlands offered the best training setup for the Indonesian national team because it offered good facilities and many opportunities for competition.

“So our cyclists will have a lot of chances to work on their skills, their endurance, everything that’s necessary to get better,” Denny said. “They mustn’t waste this opportunity, that’s all we ask.”

However, the bar will be set higher for Santia, a bronze medalist in the 2002 Asian Games in Korea.

She has shown improvement in the 500-meter time trial event, posting her best time of 36.847 seconds during the Asian Cycling Confederation Track Asia Cup 2010 in Japan, in June.

Santia finished fourth in the competition, as Hong Kong’s Lee Wai Sze clinched the gold with a time of 35.36 seconds.

Santia’s previous best time was 37.907 seconds, which she registered during last year’s Asian Cycling Championship in Tenggarong, East Kalimantan.

Denny said it was important for Santia to continue lowering her time if she hoped for a podium finish at the Asian Games in November.

“ We’re hoping she can get even faster, because we know she’s our biggest hope for a medal in Guangzhou. We believe training in the Netherlands will help her a lot in this regard,” Denny said.

Santia agreed. “I was in the Netherlands to prepare for the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, and it played a big factor as I won the gold medal [in the time trial],” she said.

“I participated in a number of competitions there and got the opportunity to practice with some really good cyclists. That helped me to improve, and hopefully it will pay dividends for me again.” 

Ami Afriatni

Papua village places food hopes in sago

Markus Makur, The Jakarta Post, Timika | Thu, 09/16/2010 10:04 AM

A sago planting program will ensure that the Kamaro people of Nayaro village, Mimika, Papua, can eat for the next ten years, a local leader says.

PT Freeport Indonesia, the Catholic Diocese of Timika and Manokwari’s Papua State University (Unipa) launched the program in 1998 to guarantee the community’s food security.

The program involved the cultivation of 8,520 prime sago tree seedlings between 2008 and 2009.

“Thanks to the program, we are confident that the people of Nayaro will not suffer from food shortages in the future,” Timika diocese chief Monsignor John Philip Saklil Pr. said recently.

Saklil said superior sago seedlings had been imported from Sentani, Jayapura, and planted on a 85 hectares of a 124-hectare farm that was collectively owned by 141 Nayaro village families. Each family received a plot of 60 sago trees.

Planting was completed in May 2009 and residents have since tended to the trees, which could be harvested after eight to 10 years.

“I hope PT Freeport’s Social and Local Outreach Development department will help the people in Nayaro to care for the sago trees so they can be harvested,” Saklil said.

Some of the trees now top 4 meters. Mature sago trees can yield up to 1.5 tons of flour.

“If a single tree could yield up to 1.5 tons of flour, then it could provide food to many people,” Saklil said.

“The food crisis could be overcome in the future,” he added.

Nayaro village’s sago trees are a pilot project for other villages along the southern coast of Mimika, he said, adding that residents were taught how to make sago flour into cakes, noodles and meatballs.

Unipa rector Yan Pieter Karafir said the province has 1.2 million hectares of sago plantations, 90 percent of the national total.

US firms to engage in RI infrastructure development

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 09/16/2010 9:35 AM 

As many as 12 US companies are ready to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on investments in infrastructure development projects with the government of Indonesia, a company delegate says.

The president director of heavy equipment company Caterpillar Asia, Kevin Thieneman, who represented the US-Asia Business Council, said Wednesday that the companies were expected to sign the MoU “in the very near future”.

“The investment will cover sectors like energy, roads, highways and broadband telecommunications,” he told reporters after meeting the Industry Minister, M.S. Hidayat, at the minister’s office in Jakarta.

The planned MoU, Thieneman said, aimed to help promote investments by US companies in infrastructure development projects in Indonesia and to accelerate the development of advanced technologies in the country to boost infrastructure investments.

Thieneman did not disclose the names of the companies that were committed to invest in Indonesia or the projected investment value.Industry Ministry director general for metal, machinery, textile and miscellaneous industries Ansari Bukhari said Caterpillar was among the companies interested to expand its heavy equipment and infrastructure development businesses in the country.

“[Thieneman] also came to affirm his company’s commitment to expand its business here,” he said. He added that Minister Hidayat had said that he fully supported the company’s commitment and pledged to consider giving several incentives to boost investments.Ansari said Caterpillar might receive several incentives since it had been conducting business in Indonesia since 1982.

He said the company might soon expand its business but declined to disclose the precise time.Poor infrastructure has long stalled foreign direct investments in Indonesia.

Many potential investors particularly in the manufacturing industry have backed down on plans to build factories in the country due to lack of energy supply and road access.

The government tried to promote infrastructure development projects by introducing public-private partnership (PPP) programs in 2005, but to date, the programs have not shown promise.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said earlier that infrastructure development in the country faced three hurdles: difficulties in land acquisition, the complexity of public-private partnership (PPP) project procedures and a lack of financing.

The Industry Ministry said it expected investments from the US companies would encourage more investors to work together with the government in developing the country’s infrastructure.

The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) estimates the government will need up to Rp 1,500 trillion for infrastructure development from 2010 to 2014.

The government will allocate Rp 500 trillion to Rp 600 trillion from its state budget for that period, with the rest of the money expected to come from PPP programs. (rdf)

As many as 12 US companies are ready to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on investments in infrastructure development projects with the government of Indonesia, a company delegate says.

The president director of heavy equipment company Caterpillar Asia, Kevin Thieneman, who represented the US-Asia Business Council, said Wednesday that the companies were expected to sign the MoU “in the very near future”.

“The investment will cover sectors like energy, roads, highways and broadband telecommunications,” he told reporters after meeting the Industry Minister, M.S. Hidayat, at the minister’s office in Jakarta.

The planned MoU, Thieneman said, aimed to help promote investments by US companies in infrastructure development projects in Indonesia and to accelerate the development of advanced technologies in the country to boost infrastructure investments.

Thieneman did not disclose the names of the companies that were committed to invest in Indonesia or the projected investment value.

Industry Ministry director general for metal, machinery, textile and miscellaneous industries Ansari Bukhari said Caterpillar was among the companies interested to expand its heavy equipment and infrastructure development businesses in the country.

“[Thieneman] also came to affirm his company’s commitment to expand its business here,” he said. He added that Minister Hidayat had said that he fully supported the company’s commitment and pledged to consider giving several incentives to boost investments.

Ansari said Caterpillar might receive several incentives since it had been conducting business in Indonesia since 1982. He said the company might soon expand its business but declined to disclose the precise time.

Poor infrastructure has long stalled foreign direct investments in Indonesia. Many potential investors particularly in the manufacturing industry have backed down on plans to build factories in the country due to lack of energy supply and road access.

The government tried to promote infrastructure development projects by introducing public-private partnership (PPP) programs in 2005, but to date, the programs have not shown promise.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said earlier that infrastructure development in the country faced three hurdles: difficulties in land acquisition, the complexity of public-private partnership (PPP) project procedures and a lack of financing.

The Industry Ministry said it expected investments from the US companies would encourage more investors to work together with the government in developing the country’s infrastructure.

The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) estimates the government will need up to Rp 1,500 trillion for infrastructure development from 2010 to 2014. 

The government will allocate Rp 500 trillion to Rp 600 trillion from its state budget for that period, with the rest of the money expected to come from PPP programs. (rdf)

Ministry set to embrace ‘jamu’

Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/15/2010 9:05 AM

The Health Ministry is preparing to officially recognize jamu, traditional Indonesian medicine, with a nationwide research project and special facilities for the centuries-old remedies.

Temulawak - Govt to make
‘temulawak’ ‘jamu’ an
icon of Indonesia

Agus Purwadianto, the head of the ministry’s research and development division, said the government was preparing up to 100 doctors to conduct research on jamu in relation to certain diseases, as a path-opener toward a future healthcare system in which jamu plays a much greater role than it does today.

“The focus will include diabetes, gout disease and cholesterol,” Agus told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Tubers and herbs that would be under the microscope this year and next, would include curcuma and Phyllanthus Urinaria Linn, known locally as meniran.

The former is known to boost stamina while the latter is known to improve the immune system, Agus said.

He added that the designated doctors would be selected for their experience in working with traditional or natural remedies. “They will gather data on the efficacy of these ingredients,” Agus said.

Agus said in the past the medical profession in Indonesia had often doubted the healing properties

of jamu.

“The problem all this time has been that doctors and existing regulations have not given jamu what it needs to develop properly.

“Since doctors do not receive specific training [on jamu], they are skeptical of its healing properties, and often decide that it cannot be included in the scientific world. This is what we are trying to remedy,” he said.

Indonesian Doctors Association chairman Prijo Sidipratomo said some doctors underestimated the powers of jamu.

“In the beginning it was like that. What we are trying to get [doctors] to realize is that we have plenty of plants we have been using for centuries that apparently do not cause any harm.

“We shouldn’t let them be researched and claimed by outsiders,” he said.

However, Prijo stressed that the promotion of jamu should focus only on its benefits as preventative, and not curative, at least for now.

“That would require more research,” he said when asked about jamu’s curative abilities.

Prijo said the council’s role in the jamu research project had so far been to establish a special division for traditional medicine, and to gather doctors who had been practicing with traditional cures.

This project would mark the first of its kind on a national scale, because thus far such projects have only involved groups of university-based scientists who researched a local jamu factory, Agus said.

He said the research had previously been conducted in methods that tried to copy that of mainstream, or chemically made medicine. “The methodologies of modern medicine were forced upon it, when it actually has its own traits and methods,” he said.

In the long term, doctors involved in the project will try to cultivate a new, more holistic system that incorporates jamu in its work, Agus said.

Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said earlier this year that the domestic market for jamu was worth US$500 million.

Indonesian Herbal Medicine Association chairman Charles Saerang said in January that the industry’s sales production was targeted to reach Rp 10 trillion ($1.1 billion) this year.

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Nissan Sees Indonesia as Possible Export Base

Jakarta Globe, September 12, 2010

Nissan, Japan’s third-largest automaker, believes Indonesia has the potential to become an export base as the company moves production from Japan to counter a strong yen.

A man walking a Nissan Motor Co factory in Yokosuka,
Japan, this year. The company says it is investing more
than $20 million at a plant in Indonesia to double capacity
in the country to 100,000 vehicles a year by 2013.
(Reuters Photo)

Nissan is investing more than $20 million at a plant in Indonesia to double capacity in the country to 100,000 vehicles a year by 2013, the company has said.

While Nissan needs the capacity to meet rising demand in Indonesia, favorable government policies may also make the country attractive for exports, said Toru Hasegawa, an executive in charge of Nissan’s Asian operations outside of Japan and China.

“We need to be thinking about the next step of Nissan’s globalization,” Hasegawa said. “Indonesia has a very high quality work force” and “very low labor costs,” he noted.

Japanese carmakers are shifting production from domestic plants as the yen gains against the dollar and euro, making exports from Japan less profitable. The yen was at 83.69 against the dollar on Sunday after climbing to 83.35 on Saturday, the strongest since May 1995.

In Indonesia, Nissan may benefit from a proposed lower tax for fuel-efficient cars that may encourage production in the nation, Hasegawa said.

Nissan recently moved production of its small-size March model out of Japan due in part to the nation’s rising currency. The automaker this year began making the compact in Thailand for export to Japan and may further expand capacity at its operations there, Hasegawa said.

The carmaker trails rivals Toyota and Daihatsu in production capacity in Indonesia. Toyota can build about 100,000 units a year in the country, and it exported about 10,000 Innova minivans and Fortuner sport-utility vehicles to other markets in Southeast Asia and to the Middle East in 2009.

Like Nissan, Toyota is shifting output to other countries, particularly emerging markets, and aims to cut production capacity in Japan by about 20 percent within five years.

Daihatsu, which in January said it would make Indonesia its center for exports, has capacity to build about 210,000 units annually in Indonesia and shipped about 12,000 cars last year to countries including Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

Bloomberg

Indonesia to host Global Peace Festival of Asia Pacific 2010

English.news.cn, 2010-09-09

JAKARTA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will host the Global Peace Festival of Asia Pacific 2010, a world conference on peace joined by about 400 religious and faith leaders on Oct. 15-18, detikcom online news reported on Thursday.

"The selection of Indonesia as the host country is right as while we have many races, religions, skin colors and others, we can live in peace and harmony," said Patron Head of Global Peace Festival Indonesia Foundation (GPIF) Musdah Mulia.

Mulia hopes that the conference could be followed up with concrete cooperation.

The event will peak on Oct. 17, featuring culture and art performance of various regions in Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations.

Religious leaders and public figures will also send peace messages.

UK envoy sends off 26 scholarship recipients

Antara News, Wednesday, September 8, 2010 15:50 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - British Ambassador to Indonesia Martin Hatfull on Tuesday sent off 26 Indonesian civil servants who had received scholarships to study at major universities in his country.

In his remarks on the occasion, Hatfull said the scholarship program , funded by the British embassy, British Council and several British institutions in Indonesia, was expected to help further strengthen the existing relationship between the two countries..

"I am delighted that the UK government is able to fund so many talented representatives of Indonesia`s national and local government to develop their skills further in the UK. I am sure that the knowledge and experience they gain will be of real value in helping Indonesia achieve its goals of growth, prosperity and economic reform," he said.

The 26 scholarship recipients came from three Indonesian state institutions such as the Home Affairs Ministry, Finance Ministry and the National Development and Planning Board (Bappenas) who had been selected from 40 applicants in a process started in May 2010.

The British envoy said the program was intended to support Indonesia`s decentralization policies that focus on public service delivery, fiscal decentralization, capacity building and governance also monitoring and evaluation.

The program also aimed to provide high quality decentralization education for central and local government officials on important aspects of public service delivery, principally fiscal decentralization and social accountability.

All the 26 young professionals would pursue a one-year master`s degree programs at several UK universities, namely in Southampton, Bristol, Bradford, Birmingham, Birkbeck New Castle and Manchester.

According to British Council scholarships officer Rowena Rompas, the newly launched program was expectedly to provide more education to Indonesian professional government officers.

RI one of Anticorruption Academy founders

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/08/2010 9:16 AM

JAKARTA: Indonesia has become a signatory for the establishment of the United Nations’ International Anticorruption Academy in Vienna, Austria together with 29 countries.

“We hope the government will ratify the agreement soon,” Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Haryono Umar said Tuesday.

He added that the academy would be open to anticorruption practitioners at public as well as private institutions at the local and regional as well as international levels.

Launched on Sept. 2 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the academy is a joint initiative by the Austrian government, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and the European Anti-Fraud Office and will come into full operation next year.

It is earmarked as a pioneering institution that aims to overcome current shortcomings in knowledge and practice in the field of anti-corruption.

It will function as an independent center of excellence in the field of anticorruption education, training, networking and cooperation, as well as of academic research, the academy says on its website, www.iaca-info.org. — JP

Bali to host Asia-Pacific conference on disaster mitigation

Antara News, Monday, September 6, 2010 13:53 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Bali is to host an Asia-Pacific Association on Emergency and Disaster Medicine (APCEDM) Conference in 2010, the organization`s chairman Dr Abdul Rajak said here on Monday.

"Of the two other candidates, namely Banda Aceh and Jakarta, the organization`s board of directors choose Bali," he said adding that he could not yet mention the exact date of the conference.

Rajak added the conference would consist of a three-day seminar and one-day simulation to test disaster management at district, province, national and international levels.

Though the conference would mainly focus on post-disaster medical and health care , Rajak said, the coordinating committee would still involve the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in planning the conference.

The Asia-Pacific region is among the most disaster-prone parts of the world. Disasters hitting this region are mostly landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunami.

This condition has made governments in the region more and more aware of the need to unite in facing natural disasters.

Last year, the military chiefs of 24 Asia-Pacific countries agreed to enhance cooperation in tackling the effects of natural disasters and epidemic diseases, an Indonesian military official said.

The agreement was reached at the 12th Chiefs of Defense (CHOD) Conference in Hawaii, United States, last October 26-29, 2009, Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) Chief Gen Djoko Santoso said.

"Several issues were discussed in the forum, including post-disaster management and ways to tackle epidemic diseases," Djoko said, adding that the three-day meeting also agreed to improve cooperation in anti-piracy operations.

Palembang to build Orchard in 2011

Antara News, Monday, September 6, 2010 13:28 WIB

Palembang, S Sumatra (ANTARA News) - The Palembang administration will build a 15-20 hectare orchard in Gandus sub-district, South Sumatra Province.

The Head of the Palembang Forestry, Fisheries and Agriculture Affairs Agency, Sudirman Tegoeh, said here on Monday that the construction of the orchard will be stared next year.

The orchard will be an alternative tourism site to attract more tourists to Palembang.

According to him, in the initial phase the orchard would have trees bearing kinds of fruits available in the Palembang market.

Kelengkeng, mango, and orange trees were some of those to be grown under the project, he said.

The authority would also make a preservation program of rare and almost extinct fruits such as, mangosteen and rukam (Flacourtia rukam), he added.

The fund for the project would be allocated from the regional budget in 2011 and the construction expecting to be started the middle of next year, he said.

There would be a lot of benefits from the orchard, he said, adding that it could limit fruit imports, preserve the rare fruits, and improve the locals` welfare.

President: Relocating the capital city an option

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 09/03/2010 8:21 PM

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono offered on Friday to relocate the capital from Jakarta as one of options to overcome problems facing the metropolitan city, particularly traffic congestion.

"Build a completely new capital, which will serve as the real capital, the real government center," the president was quoted by Antara during a breaking of the fast gathering with members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) at the Jakarta Convention Center.

He said Indonesia could learn from Australia and Turkey, which relocated the capital and government center altogether to solve various problems.

Another option is maintaining Jakarta as the capital but moving the center of government to a new place as Malaysia did, the president said.

He said it would take around 10 years to realize any of the options.

The president called for a thorough discussion to decide which option would be chosen, saying it would cost the country a lot. Malaysia, for example, spent Rp 80 trillion to relocate the government center from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya.

"I will listen to inputs from many parties," he said.

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Fast-Food Giant Cuts Ties With Sinar Mas

Jakarta Globe, September 02, 2010

In this file photo Greenpeace activists display a large banner with a message "APP stop destroying tiger forest" at the PT. Tebo Multi Agro concession. APP, Indonesia's largest pulp and paper producer is a division of Sinar Mas. Burger King, the international fast food company, has cut ties with Sinar Mas after Greenpeace’s successful campaign against the Indonesian group’s land-clearing practices. (AFP Photo/Romeo Gacad)

US fast food giant Burger King said on Thursday that it would no longer buy palm oil from Sinar Mas or its subsidiaries, after Greenpeace’s successful campaign against the Indonesian group’s land-clearing practices.

Burger King joins the likes of Unilever, Nestle and Kraft in shunning Sinar Mas in a move that will increase pressure on other corporate buyers of its palm oil products, such as Pizza Hut, KFC and Dunkin’ Donuts.

The news comes on the same day that Burger King, the second-largest US fast-food chain, announced that it had agreed to be bought by investment firm 3G Capital for $24 per share, or about $3.26 billion.

Indonesia is the biggest producer of palm oil, which is used in everything from biscuits to cosmetics, but environmentalists say plantations are behind deforestation blamed for habitat loss and greenhouse gas emissions.

Burger King said a recent independent audit of Sinar Mas palm oil unit Smart’s land-clearing practices — commissioned by Sinar Mas in response to the Greenpeace allegations — revealed activities “inconsistent with our corporate responsibility commitments.

“We believe the report has raised valid concerns about the sustainability practices of Sinar Mas’s palm oil production and its impact on the rainforest,” Burger King said on its Facebook page.

“As part of our … corporate responsibility program, Burger King Corp. is committed to sourcing our products from sustainable suppliers.”

It said it was looking for a new palm oil supplier for its 176 restaurants supplied by Sinar Mas.

“In addition, we are notifying our suppliers of our intent to discontinue the use of palm oil supplied by Sinar Mas in the manufacturing of our products.”

Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology has been struggling to repair its image after a Greenpeace campaign led several foreign buyers to cancel major contracts.

Greenpeace says the company is clearing high-value peat forest against Indonesian law and failing to wait for environmental studies before starting operations in sensitive areas of Borneo.

The company has acknowledged mistakes have been made in small areas, but denies it is a “forest destroyer.”

Rampant deforestation, much of it illegal, is a major reason Indonesia is the world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and is driving species like Sumatran tigers to extinction.

Smart’s credibility took a blow last month when auditors Control Union Certification and BSI Group, authors of the independent verification report, complained that it had misrepresented elements of their findings.

The company had trumpeted their report as evidence that Greenpeace’s allegations were false, but the auditors said the probe’s “key findings” included that it had violated Indonesian law on forest management.

It also found that Smart had initiated operations on almost 38,000 hectares of land on Borneo before mandatory environmental studies had been completed.

Greenpeace welcomed Burger King’s announcement.

Greenpeace forest campaigner Rolf Skar wrote in a blog: “This is another blow for Sinar Mas, which had hoped its self-commissioned audit would convince corporate customers and the media that it was a sustainable company."

Smart president director Daud Dharsono has rejected any suggestion the company was trying to dodge the findings of its own audit or mislead shareholders.

Agence France-Presse

End of deal: A Burger King franchise is seen on Sept. 2, 2010, in Los Angeles. The US hamburger chain has said it will stop buying palm oil from an Indonesian company accused of destroying rainforests. – AP/Damian Dovarganes

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Seven airports offered up for private investment

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 09/02/2010 9:16 AM

The director general of air transportation at the Transportation Ministry, Herry Bakti S Gumay, said Wednesday the government had offered up seven airports across Indonesia to be managed by foreign investors.

“The airports are in South Banten, Bali, East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and West Java. All require the construction of new terminals,” Herry told reporters.

He said it was also possible that Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali would be offered up as both were in need of massive improvement.

According to Herry, an Indian investor had shown interest in investing in Indonesian airports and had met with the government to submit proposals.

It is believed the involvement of foreign investors is due to a limited state budget and provisions outlined in the aviation law.

“There is no regulation barring foreign investors from majority holdings in airports,” Herry said.

“The airports will stay in Indonesia and bring many benefits to Indonesians. We’ll just share the revenue with foreign investors.”

Previously, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar said the government was looking for local and foreign investors to develop the airports, which have been operating for 25 years.

Herry said the public private partnership (PPP) mechanism would be used to partner state airport operators with foreign investors. “Foreign investors will invest their money in the airports, not invest their money through airport operators.”

Based on Indonesia National Carrier Association (INACA) data, currently Indonesia has 210 airports.

State airport operators PT Angkasa Pura I and PT Angkasa Pura II oversee 13 and 12 airports respectively.

The Transportation Ministry has eight airport projects under the PPP mechanism this year, all of which are expected to be done by 2014.

The projects include New Samarinda in East Kalimantan, South Banten, Kertajati in Cirebon, West Java and two cargo terminals at Sentani and Tarakan airports.

Ignatius Bambang Tjahjono, the airport director at the Transportation Ministry, said PPP mechanisms were being used because building airports required huge investments.

“Kertajati requires Rp 5 trillion and South Banten needs Rp 1 trillion. That’s why we need to encourage investment,” he said.

The Transportation Ministry aims to operate all those airports not only in the wake of the growth of the national airline industry, but also to accommodate ASEAN’s Open Sky policy in 2014.

The government is also increasing the capacities of major airports such as Juanda in Surabaya, Ngurah Rai in Denpasar, Polonia in Medan and Sultan Hasanuddin in Makassar.

The Indonesian airline industry has seen significant growth in the past five years.

INACA records show that national airlines carried 43.8 million passengers in 2009, an increase of 17 percent compared to 2008 figures of 37.4 million passengers.

Australia provides A$20 million to RI police

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 09/02/2010 9:25 AM

JAKARTA: The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has donated A$20 million (US$18 million) worth of equipment to the Indonesian border police to facilitate interception of boat people heading for Australia through Indonesian waters.

“The assistance is provided solely for the purpose of curbing people smuggling, although the technology can also be used for other police efforts,” National Police detective chief Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi told reporters.

The assistance consists of transportation, surveillance and identification equipment. All equipment would be granted as components, which will later be assembled in Indonesia, Ito said, adding that Australia offered the assistance as a token of appreciation for Indonesia’s role in helping stem the flow of boat people illegally entering Australian territory. —JP

Local banks still shy to fund green projects: UN

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 09/02/2010 9:59 AM

Indonesian banks and financial institutions are reluctant to finance carbon trading projects — despite the government’s drive to cut emissions and fight climate change, says a UN report.

The report shows that Malaysia has 83 registered projects promoting clean development mechanisms (CDMs), surpassing 48 projects registered in Indonesia.

The Malaysian government has 176 approved CDM projects, Thailand has 133 and Indonesia has 131, the report said.

“We are very eager to see the local banking system finance CDM projects,” National Council on Climate Change (DNPI) CDM unit head Dicky Edwin Hindarto said Wednesday.

Dicky said that the investment climate was far more favorable in Malaysia, where the local banking system supported CDM projects.

Clean development mechanisms were developed under the Kyoto Protocol to allow companies in developing countries to develop emission reduction projects.

The Kyoto Protocol required rich nations to cut 5 percent of their emissions from 1997 levels and allowed rich nations to finance emission reduction projects in developing countries.

Governments in developing countries approve CDM projects before forwarding them to the UN executive board for approval, Dicky said.

The CDM executive board will issue certificates for approved projects that can be traded on the international market for US$10 per ton of emissions.

CDM projects can take the form of energy saving initiatives that promote the shift from coal-based fuels to more ecologically-friendly sources.

Countries with forests can also fund reforestation with CDM programs, but none of Indonesia’s 131 projects involve forests, Dicky said.

“It is all energy-related projects,” Dicky added.

Indonesia’s 120 million hectares of rainforests make it the world’s third largest forested country. The nation is promoting emission reduction under the UN’s defo-restation and forest degradation (REDD) scheme, which is expected to replace CDM forestry projects.

The UN executive board currently has 2,347 registered CDM projects. China and India had the most projects, recording 959 and 527 respectively. China has also several forestry-related CDM projects.

Dicky said that the UN had issued certificates to six projects with a total of 346,000 tons of emissions per year.

Tinamitra Mandiri president director Shana Fatina said there are difficulties in convincing banks to finance environmental projects.

Tinamitra Mandiri, which was created in March 2010, will develop a CDM project by shifting 571 public buses in Cirebon from diesel to natural gas, Shana said.

“We are still calculating the total emission that can be saved by shifting fuels,” she added.

The company will supply converter kits for the buses.

“It needs a lot of investment because we will replace all buses made before 2005,” said Shana, a 23-year-old recent graduate of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

She said that the company would set up its own gas stations in Cirebon to ensure the gas supply.

“We will integrate it with auto repair shops and the monitoring system,” she said.