Local news have been covering the issue of Jakarta’s air pollution in the wake of recent damning reports suggesting Indonesia’s capital city is one of, if not the most polluted city in the world. The latest reporting from Tempo says that the government has started implementing policies to reduce air pollution in Jakarta. Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar has announced that at least 11-industrial companies were subject to administrative sanctions, because they were the sources of the capital’s air pollution.
Tempo report that administrative sanctions were imposed as a follow-up to law enforcement through the deployment of 100-team members to 351-industrial companies. This includes Steam Power Plant (PLTU) and Diesel Power Plant (PLTD) companies, suspected of being the sources of Jakarta’s air pollution.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry will continue the identification process through the Air Pollution Standard Index Observation (ISPU) of around 161-industries in the six locations closest to the observation tool located in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
This is in line with the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) report in August 2020, which stated that the presence of a steam power plant (PLTU) is also a significant factor in Jakarta’s air pollution problem, say Tempo.
Burning coal caused exposure to concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in Greater Jakarta which remained high even though there were mobility restrictions at that time.
From Tempo’s investigation, there are at least 14 PLTUs within a 100-kilometer radius from the National Monument (Monas), in the center of Jakarta. The following are the 14 PLTUs sorted by the shortest distance from Monas, Jakarta.
1. PLTU Babelan Bekasi 25.56 Km
2. PLTU Fajar Paper 34.4 km
3. PLTU Banten 3 Lontar 42.42 km
4. PLTU PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Serang 59.33 km
5. PLTU PT Dian Swastika Sentosa 61.72 km
6. PLTU Indo Bharat Rayon 70.86 km
7. PLTU PT Indorama Synthetics 77.22 km
8. PLTU Jawa 7 82.77 km
9. PLTU PT Merak Energi Indonesia 90.38 km
10. PLTU Banten 1 Suralaya OMU 92.3 km
11. PLTU Suralaya 93.59 km
12. PLTU Pelabuhan Ratu 94.71 km
13. PLTU PT Indorama Petrochemicals 98.82 km
14. PLTU PT Asahimas Chemicals 99.32 km
Source: Tempo
Stock Power Plant Image by Chris LeBoutillier on Unsplash
