REPUBLIKA.CO.ID,  JAKARTA -- Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan has urged state-run oil company PT Pertamina to prepare to transform into a chemical industry. A chemical industry will be the most appropriate choice for Pertamina, with declining oil reserves in its old wells while new resources have yet to be found, Jonan noted.

"The automotive industry has shifted to electric cars, so what about the oil and gas industry? We have to establish a chemical industry," Jonan stated here on Wednesday.

Earlier, Jongkie Sugiarto, chairman of the Association of Automotive Industries, remarked that the development of electric cars in Indonesia has faced two main obstacles: availability of power charging stations and tax adjustment for the product.

"Public power charging stations are the main requirement for the development of electric and hybrid cars, although the two have different types of charging," Sugiarto pointed out.

According to Sugiarto, city administrations should consider a local regulation that requires departmental stores to provide power charging stations in the parking area. "It is not necessarily free charging, but consumers could pay in cash or credits," he stated.

He welcomed the positive measures taken by the state-run electricity company PT PLN to provide power charging stations to support future development of the automotive technology.

The association has also called on the government to adjust the taxes for electric cars to make them affordable for consumers. "As long as we have yet to adjust the tax, it will be difficult, as the selling price will be too high," he added.

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