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Indonesia aims to end fuel imports within three years

Jakarta (ANTARA) – President Prabowo Subianto is targeting Indonesia to stop all fuel imports within the next two to three years while intensifying efforts to strengthen national energy self-sufficiency.”Perhaps in two or three years, we will not need to import fuel at all,” Prabowo said at the inauguration of an electric commercial vehicle assembly plant in Magelang, Central Java, on Thursday.Such a target will be achieved through a 100-gigawatt electrification program which is expected to be completed within two years.This program includes the closure of 13 diesel-fired power plants owned by PT PLN that currently consume large amounts of fuel.The closure of those diesel-fired power plants is expected to save up to 200,000 barrels of diesel fuel per day.Currently, Indonesia imports one million barrels of fuel daily, so reducing diesel use will lower import dependence by 20 percent.In addition to electrifying power plants, the government is promoting electric vehicles and the utilization of other renewable energy sources.These sources include processing palm oil and used cooking oil into aviation fuel to further reduce reliance on fossil fuels.Prabowo emphasized that massive investment would be allocated to the development of processing centers or refineries to support this transformation.”We will be independent, we will be strong, we will stand on our own two feet,” the president stated.Prabowo inaugurated the vehicle facility in Magelang as part of an effort to encourage the downstreaming and industrialization of domestic technology.By increasing production capacity to 10,000 buses per year, the government is striving to strengthen the national automotive ecosystem while gradually raising the domestic component level (TKDN) standard to 80 percent.The factory is considered a strategic instrument in supporting the national energy transition from fossil fuel dependence to cleaner energy.