Indonesia can provide coal for the power projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and to Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) in Pakistan, an Indonesian envoy to Pakistan said on Tuesday afternoon.
Ambassador Adam M Tugio informed that Indonesia currently exported 8.51 million tons of coal to the world market, accounting for 26 percent of the total global coal exports.
In a meeting with prominent businessmen in Lahore to promote bilateral cooperation especially the Indonesian coal in Pakistan, the envoy mentioned that Pakistan’s demand for coal was continuously increasing every year.
The meeting was attended by several businessmen from different sectors, such as the textile industry, steel, ceramic and cement, all of which have the potential to import coal for their energy generators.
The Government of Pakistan has been paying special attention to the development of infrastructure and energy supply as it is one of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries, where coal is a major part of energy projects.
“By knowing exactly the nominal demand for coal along with the specifications, the demand for coal products will easily be consolidated through a consortium of Indonesian exporters to meet specific demands here”, the Ambassador remarked.
In 2020, he maintained, the total import value of coal (coal, briquettes) in Pakistan was US $ 1.233 billion (17,146 million tons), while Indonesia’s exports to Pakistan were merely US $ 224 million (3,520 million tons).
The Indonesian envoy contended that Indonesia still had the potential to increase exports to meet Pakistan’s coal market requirement of around US$1.008 billion.
“Through modern approaches, it is hoped that the combination of large-scale Pakistani companies can maintain supply chain continuity and control the quality of the imported coal, and the consortium of Indonesian suppliers will obtain certainty and continuity of orders from the group of Pakistani companies,” Ambassador Tugio added.
Apart from Indonesia, Pakistan’s coal imports came from South Africa amounting to US$829 million, Russia USD$85 million, Australia US$45 million, Afghanistan US$43 million, China US$1.194 million and others, he noted.
Tugio stated that the gathering was initiated by the Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad to promote diversified Indonesian products in Pakistan other than palm oil.
It was also explored to convene business matching focusing on areas where Indonesia and Pakistan industries can cooperate, such as in the textiles and garments industry where cotton, yarn, polyester can be imported from Indonesia.
