Govt cuts down gas pipeline network target amid pandemic
Friday, September 4 2020 - 02:42 PM WIB
The government has cut down the city gas pipeline network (better known as Jargas) target for this year as part of the budget has been reallocated to help deal with the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
Acting Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Ego Syahrial told the House of Representatives Commission VII on energy and mining on Thursday that the government initially targeted to connect 266,070 households with the gas pipeline network.
He said this target has now been revised down to 127,864 households with total required budget of Rp 1.43 trillion, compared to the initial allocated budget of Rp 3.03 trillion.
Elsewhere, Ego said that the physical construction progress of the Jargas program for this year has reached 70.66 percent.
Read also: Govt to connect 4m households with city gas network by 2024
The Jargas program is aimed to help push households to convert from kerosene to natural gas, which is cheaper and more environmentally friendly, in a bid to help reduce fuel oil import.
The government has set a target to connect up to 4 million households with the Jargas by 2024. The Jargas program started in 2009, and so far hundred thousands of households in various cities/regencies have been connected with the gas pipeline network.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak