Govt to Cut Gas Converter Budget

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The budget allocation for gas converter kit procurement is one of the budget entries which will be cut by the government in its drive to streamline the swelling of its ministries expenditure, a minister said.

"The allocation of Rp200 billion for the procurement of converter kits will be cut by Rp50 billion," Industry Minister MS Hidayat said.

He said that the budget for the converter kits would be reduced because many refueling stations were not yet ready to install devices and to prepare supporting infrastructure.

"We will set aside the budget based on the readiness of refueling stations. We will return the budged reduction this year, but will take it again next year," the minister said.

In total, the Ministry of Industry will have its budget allocations cut by Rp183 billion. The cut budget has previously designed for regional governments' expenditure but the programs could still be delayed.

"There are regional governments who are not yet ready to carry out their programs so that their budget could be delayed until next year," Hidayat said. (*/DWA)