Planned Global Tender For Refinery Construction Can Attract Investors

Jakarta, Feb 13 (Antara) - The planned global tender for the construction of an oil refinery in Bontang, East Kalimantan, has the potential to attract more foreign investors, Deputy Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro stated. "One of the advantages of an international tender is that we can compare one bidder with another. With the competition, we obviously get to know which bid is fair and which one is not," he explained here, on Wednesday night. Investors are seeking certainty about the government`s plan to build the oil refinery, added Bambang, who had just attended market consultations with 20 global oil and gas companies in Singapore. "They asked about the preparedness of land as we had pledged earlier. They also asked about the products and by-products of the refinery," he elaborated. They did not ask about tax holiday, which has become the government`s main incentive to attract investment, he remarked. "They did not ask about incentives because they are aware that we have terms of reference to build the refineries," he pointed out. He expressed hope that the plan to build an oil refinery on 500 hectares of land in Bontang coast, East Kilamantan, will soon materialize and help in curbing the import of oil products and by-products. In the long run, the construction of the refinery will help the government improve the country`s balance of trade. "If the project (can be integrated) with a petrochemical plant, it will be more feasible. We will be able to reduce the import of petrochemicals which have so far been one of the greatest chunks of our imports besides oil and other consumer goods," he elaborated.