Indonesia To limit Subsidized Fuel Sales By July 2013

Jakarta, May 10 (Antara) - The Indonesian government will limit subsidized fuel sales up to a reasonable limit by using information technology system as of July 2013, an official said. The restriction will be imposed in stages in accordance with the progress of the installation of the monitoring system devices, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Susilo Siswoutomo said here on Friday. "The (restriction) will begin in Jakarta in July 2013," he said. Based on the ministry`s calculation, a motorcycle reasonably needs 0.7 liter of fuel per day, and a private car around three liters daily. A vehicle owner is allowed to buy fuel during a certain period, for instance once in a week. By imposing the restriction, the government hopes the subsidized fuel sales would not exceed the quota that has been set by the authorities. The government will prepare various regulations needed for the implementation of the fuel sale restriction. "The regulations are expected to be ready before July," he said. As part of the limitation plan, state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina will install information technology-based devices called RFID tags in around 100 million vehicles and 5,027 gas stations in stages throughout Indonesia for one year from July 2013 to June 2014. The 100 vehicles comprise 11 million cars, 80 million motorcycles, three million buses and six million trucks. The installation of RFID tags will first have to wait for the issuance of a joint decree of the energy and mineral resources minister, the transportation minister and the national police chief. Pertamina, however will install RFID tags on around 500,000 government-owned vehicles starting May 2013, as it is already regulated on the energy and mineral resources ministry`s regulations No. 12/2012 and No. 1/2013. Bandung-based state-owned telecommunication company PT Inti has won the tender to supply and install the monitoring system devices.