Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government is planning to get six million units of electric motorcycles on the road nationwide by 2025 as part of an effort to cut carbon emissions and save fossil fuel (BBM) consumption.

The government is involving various stakeholders, including state-owned enterprises, to achieve this target, Secretary-general of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Ego Syahrial said on the sidelines of the Indonesian G20 2nd Energy Transition Working Group Meeting (ETWG) here on Friday.

The collaboration is focused on carrying out energy conversion programs and infrastructure development that can support the electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia, he added.

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"The program implementation will be able to save fuel by around 13 million barrels per year or worth Rp16 trillion per year, reduce carbon emissions by 4 million tons per year, and increase electricity consumption by 2.4 terawatt-hours per year," he elaborated.

On Friday, the ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with state electricity firm PLN and state oil and gas company Pertamina for the conversion to electric motorcycles program.

Another MoU was also signed between PLN and state-run banks Bank Mandiri, BRI, BNI, and BTN for the ownership credits of electric vehicles as well as the development of public electric vehicle charging stations infrastructure.

According to Syahrial, the e-motorcycle conversion program is a good step because it will provide opportunities to the younger generation to gain new skills, open new jobs, and increase the production of local components.

Meanwhile, President Director of PLN Darmawan Prasodjo said the program to convert gasoline-fueled motorcycles to electricity-powered motorcycles can accelerate the energy transition, reduce imports and subsidies for fossil fuels, and save the country's foreign exchange.

"Using electric vehicles can reduce carbon emissions, considering that one of today's largest carbon emission contributions comes from the transportation sector," Prasodjo added.

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Translator: Sugiharto P, Kenzu T
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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