JAKARTA - The government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources plans to provide incentives for coal gasification projects.
According Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif, the incentives aim to increase the economic value of Indonesia's coal downstreaming sector. "There are a lot of incentives to be provided so that the [coal] downstreaming sector can be competitive and have a great economic value," Mr Tasrif said in a press release received by IDNFinancials.com.
Priority projects entitled to the incentives are gasification of low-calorie coal into dimethyl ether (DME) projects. The outcome of the gasification projects will be used as substitutes for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Coal gasification projects, Mr Tasrif added, deserve government incentives due to their positive impact, including reducing Indonesia's reliance on imported LPG.
"If we can create substitutes to LPG, we can secure a large amount of foreign exchange. LPG use continues to increase every year, and we have enough coal to produce DME," he said. (KR/MS)