The Executive Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) is targeting coal production from the former mining area of the company holding the Coal Mining Business Agreement (PKP2B) of the Bakrie Group, PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), to commence in the middle of this year.

PBNU Chairman Ulil Abshar Abdalla stated that they are currently in the early production stage. It is expected that by mid-2025, or at the latest by the end of 2025, the former PKP2B land will begin producing.

"We are currently in the process of moving towards initial production. God willing, by mid to the end of the year, we will start production. But this year, God willing, we are optimistic and we should be able to produce," said Ulil when he was interviewed by Kontan at the Indonesian Parliament Building in Jakarta, Wednesday (January 22).

To develop the mine, Ulil said that they have partnered with a national private company as an investor.

"We now have a Limited Liability Company (PT), a State-Owned Enterprise of NU, whose shares are owned by a cooperative, but there are also other shareholders. We are collaborating with investors from other parties, actually domestic ones, and they are already on board," he said.

Unfortunately, Ulil could not disclose which private company has partnered with NU to develop the former PKP2B mine.

"We are working with domestic private companies. And now, we just need to follow the process because there are some very strict requirements that we need to fulfill," he added.

Despite this, Ulil mentioned that they are still facing challenges related to the Compensation Data Information (KDI), which is paid to obtain data and information regarding mining.

"This is a large financial contribution that we need to pay to the government, and we are currently negotiating it because the amount is substantial. If possible, we would like to pay it in installments," he explained.

For your information, NU is the first religious organization to receive former PKP2B mining land from the government. The former PKP2B land granted to NU is the former KPC mining area covering 26,000 hectares.

PT KPC is one of the coal mining entities of PT Bumi Resources Tbk. (BUMI), a publicly listed company owned by the Bakrie Group, which is now jointly controlled with the Salim Group.