A business delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) met with Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto on Tuesday to discuss investment opportunities in Indonesia.

Tashyeed Group CEO Zayed Bin Owaidah Al Qubaisy, a member of the delegation, expressed interest in producing compressed natural gas (CNG) in Indonesia as a substitute for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is widely used by households and industries in the country.

“CNG costs a third of the price of LPG, and the composite containers are much lighter than the steel LPG containers,” he said, adding that the composite containers were safe and allowed consumers to use 100 percent of the gas inside.

“Imagine the savings at households and factories across Indonesia if everyone used CNG instead of LPG,” he said.

Meanwhile, Michael Whittingham, CTO of Global Energy and Lighting, offered LED lighting systems that he claimed would help Indonesian cities improve illumination and save energy. “We can increase light output, cut maintenance costs and reduce energy use by 90 percent,” he added.

Zayed said he would soon provide investment proposals for the CNG and LED lighting projects. During the meeting, Airlangga also invited UAE investors to seize opportunities in petrochemical manufacturing, hydropower plant construction, palm oil downstream industries and ore refining. (kmt/bbn)