Debts of Reforestation Funds Rescheduled
Tuesday, 09 January, 2007 | 12:46 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Department of Forestry has approved a rescheduling over ten industrial forest companies having reforestation fund debts.

Head of the Bureau for Planning and Finance at the Department of Forestry Wandojo Siswanto said that the agreement was signed after the government checked the feasibility of the industrial forest companies' finance and management. “We evaluated them based on these two matters,” he told Tempo.

Some years ago, the government had disbursed reforestation funds of Rp2.4 trillion to 92 companies of a joint industrial forest to develop the forest. Joint industrial forests is a joint company between state-owned enterprises of forestry and private companies.

Of the amount, half of the funds were the government's co-financing. In addition, the other half were commercial interest loans and non-interest loans. Those kinds of loans must be returned to the government.

Data that Tempo acquired shows that until September 2006, the unreturned debts of reforestation funds reached Rp1.05 trillion. Of the amount, around Rp413.1 billion originated from 10 companies that acquired a rescheduling.

According to Wandojo, in addition to the ten companies, there were still 20 companies that proposed a rescheduling. “However, we are still investigating them,” he said.

Ewo Raswa