Inco only prepared to pay Rp 13 billion
Published by MAC on 2002-02-14
Inco only prepared to pay Rp 13 billion
Suara Pembaruan Daily (Indonesia)
14 February 2002
Palu-Pt Inco Ltd. is only preparing to pay Rp 13 billion of the Rp 25 billion proposed by the Central Sulawesi local administration to relocate around 500 transmigrant families. The community's settlement at the moment is overlapping with the Inco concession area in the Bahodopi Blok region, Morowali District, Central Sulawesi.
"We are persistent on the commitment to pay only Rp 13 billion for a relocation fund for these transmigrant citizens to the Central Sulawesi provincial government," stated Chief Executive Officer PT Inco Ltd., Rumengan Musu, during a hearing held at the Central Sulawesi Local House of Representatives on Wednesday (13/2) in Palu.
Also mentioned was that in 1995, the Central Sulawesi local government proposed Rp 25 billion as a relocation fund for the Bahodopi citizens, however Rp 12 billion of the total was agreed and signed by the government (Central Sulawesi national budget and local budget), while Rp 13 billion is the Inco assistance will be counted via Inco's royalties to the government.
"So, we do not want to count Rp 25 billion, but we state that Inco will be responsible to pay Rp 13 billion as per the commitment in their contract of work license for our nickel mine in Morowali," stated Musu.
From the Rp 13 billion, stated Musu, the parties already contributed Rp 2.6 billion that will be used to relocate 200 Bahudopi families to Saembawalati, Mori Atas subdistrict, Poso district in 1996.
The other 500 families up until now their fate is still up in the air because the budget has yet to be confirmed to relocate the citizens to Labato, South Bungku subdistrict, Morowali district, around 50 kilometers from the settlement location.
Other than the relocation fund, Musu also claimed contributing Rp 3 billion in funds for the Central Sulawesi and Morowali governments, as community development funds towards nickel exploitation in Bahudopi.
In Bahodopi Blok that includes seven villages in Central Bungku and South Bungku subdistricts, Morowali, Inco has a nickel mining concession area of around 36,000 hectares or 16.76% of Inco's total 218,528 hectares that covers three provinces (South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi).
However, the nickel land in Bahodopi controlled by Inco since 1968 (based on contract license) is overlapping with the transmigration settlement that was settled by the government in the 1990s.(Pembaruan 26-27 June 2001).
When asked, when Inco began operations in Bahodopi, Musu stated he did not know when because this matter very much depends on the techincal and economic feasibility.
*Translated from Bahasa Indonesia to English by JATAM