"This is part of our exercise or a study as an effort to reduce air pollution in Jakarta," the minister stated after attending the Supply Chain & National Capacity Summit 2024 at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on Wednesday.
Luhut revealed that the government would conduct further study regarding this issue to reduce pollution in Jakarta, especially since the coal-fired Suralaya power plant has been operating for more than four decades.
"Later, we will have a meeting to discuss this issue. The Suralaya PLTU has been operating for over 40 years," he remarked.
He noted that Jakarta's air quality index is around 170-200, which is causing a disease in the community. Luhut said this phenomenon has become a burden for the community.
"If we can close the Suralaya PLTU, the air quality index in Jakarta can drop below 100," he stated.
On the other hand, he affirmed that the government is also encouraging the acceleration of the implementation of Battery-Based Electric Motor Vehicles (KBLBB) and the use of low-sulfur fuel oil (BBM).
He pointed out that the government had to spend Rp38 trillion (US$2.3 billion) on public medical expenses due to air pollution.
On Tuesday, citing a report from the Health Ministry, President Joko Widodo also stated that the handling of Acute Respiratory Infections (ISPA) in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi (Jabodetabek) cost almost Rp10 trillion (US$610 million).
"We spent a lot of money to handle these respiratory diseases caused by air pollution," he pointed out.
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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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