The government is currently in the process of calculating the rate of a subsidy dedicated to bioethanol fuel in a bid to tackle air pollution, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan stated.

“Yes, the subsidy will go on. We are calculating it, so that the subsidy will only target those deserving it,” he remarked when met in Jakarta on Friday.

Pandjaitan emphasised that the utilisation of bioethanol as fuel serves as one of the quick steps to address air pollution issues in the country

Speaking at an event titled “Jakarta Future Forum: Blue Horizons, Green Growth,” the minister echoed the government’s commitment to replacing fossil-based fuel with bioethanol.

Pandjaitan also remarked that the government had not ruled out the possibility of mixing ethanol with Pertalite, a type of gasoline offered by state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina.

In order to expedite the development of bioethanol, he stated that the government is aiming to make use of around two million hectares of sugarcane plantation in Papua region.

“Our plan is to use corn, sugarcane, or even seaweed (for making bioethanol). We have plenty of options,” he pointed out.

The Indonesian Government has formed the Task Force for the Acceleration of Sugar and Bioethanol Self-sufficiency stationed in Merauke District, South Papua Province.

Establishment of the task force was put forward in Presidential Decree No. 15 of 2024 signed by President Joko Widodo on April 19 this year.

Article 1 of the decree stipulates that the task force is mandated to expedite and facilitate the process of integration of sugarcane plantations with sugar and bioethanol industries as well as biomass power plants.

Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia serves as head of the task force, while Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya and Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Minister Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono function as the deputy heads.

Source from ANTARA NEWS

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