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Govt allots Rp 1.6 trillion for energy security fund, oil reserve
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President Joko Widodo (center) discusses with Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said (left) accompanied by North Maluku Governor Abdul Ghani, while visiting a solar power plant in Daruba village, Morotai, on April 5. (ANTARA FOTO/Yudhi Mahatma)
T
he government has allocated Rp 1.6 trillion (US$119 million) of the state budget for an energy security fund (DKE) and strategic oil reserve in the revised 2016 state budget bill, which was submitted to the House of Representatives last week.
"I applaud the budget allocations on both items in the revised budget. Now, we only need to implement it," Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said told reporters in Jakarta on Monday.
However, he considered the Rp 1.6 trillion allocation as not ideal. "For instance, it will take Rp 23 trillion and five years to build a strategic oil stock. It’s still far [from ideal], but it is better than nothing," he stated.
The energy security fund aims to improve energy resiliency in all sectors by providing incentives and subsidies for renewable energy development. Meanwhile, the strategic oil reserve fund would become the bumper to anticipate the hike in fuel prices. (ags)
