"Yes, we have to spend Rp800 billion (for the distribution cost)," President Joko Widodo said.
Pontianak, W Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - The government does not hesitate to set aside Rp800 billion a year to finance distribution of oil fuel (BBM) under the program of setting the same price of the strategic commodity all over the country.

"Yes, we have to spend Rp800 billion (for the distribution cost)," President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said when addressing the ceremony officially inaugurating 17 units of BBM terminal in this West Kalimantan capital city on Friday.

The terminals are designed to facilitate the distribution of the BBM with administered price in isolated areas in the province, Jokowi said.

Jokowi compared the BBM distribution cost to the huge fund set aside by the government previously for BBM subsidy .

"You chose to keep silent when previously the government spent more than Rp300 trillion a year on BBM subsidy, and trigger an uproar over Rp800 billion distribution cost. And I repeat it is for isolated areas, for outermost regions, for eastern Indonesia," he said.

Present at the ceremony included the First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan, Minister for State Enterprises (BUMN) Rini Soemarno, Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukito, and other officials.

"There are several BBM terminals in Kalimantan, in Sulawesi,in Maluku, and in North Maluku, but the largest number is in Papua," the President said.

The president described the difficulty of transporting and distributing the oil fuel all over the vast archipelago, going over the sea and mountainous areas.

He said it is not an easy way to go through to reach isolated areas which have so far been left largely neglected.

"In the past we have shown little attention to what is going on in far way regions. Now we could not continue to be so neglectful of their condition even if they are isolated far from us. They are part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia," the president said.

He then pledged that the number of the BBM terminals would continue to increase from year to year to carry out the program.

(T.SYS/A/H-ASG/A014)

Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017