Indonesian nuclear project stalled

Indonesian nuclear project stalled

By James Balowski

Minister of research and technology B.J. Habibie's determination to develop Indonesia's nuclear power industry hit another snag on December 12. Instead of being "rubber-stamped", a bill to give the go-ahead for the controversial project failed to be approved in parliament after it became bogged down at the committee stage.

When the project was first announced in 1992, domestic and international concerns about safety, waste disposal and economic viability seemed force the project off the agenda. However, in January 1996 the government announced that the construction of a nuclear reactor, the first of 12 to be built along the north coast of Java, would begin in 1998 or '99.

Responding to the announcement, the Australian government said last March that it would be "delighted" if Australia could sell uranium to Indonesia.

Java is located on the "ring of fire", so-called because of its frequent and violent geological activity. Java, with a population of more than 100 million people, is among the half-dozen places in the world with the highest risk of volcanic and earthquake activity. Indonesia's National Atomic Energy Agency has admitted that no-one could give a 100% guarantee that the reactors would not be affected by earthquakes.

If a serious accident did occur, substantial areas of Java would be contaminated and require immediate evacuation. Neighbouring Indonesian islands would also be affected, as would large areas of Malaysia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Australia, depending on the season and the wind direction.

Indonesian environment groups and Indonesian Democratic Party MPs are campaigning against the project. Even some members of the state party, Golkar, and the military have expressed opposition to it.

From GLW issue 263