Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said the government`s plan to set up a nuclear power plant (PLTN) in the Muria peninsula, Jepara district, Central Java, was not yet final. Speaking to the press after delivering a keynote speech at a seminar to mark the 50th anniversary of Dipenogoro University (Undip) here on Saturday, the minister said the government appreciated the people`s objections to its plan to build a nuclear power plant in the area, ANTARA reported. He said his office was keeping a close watch on what was being done to implement the plan, including the tackling of the project`s environmental aspects which normally had to be done by an analysis and assessment of the project`s possible impact on the local environment. As long as the proposed nuclear power plant had not yet been built, the plan should be considered as just a "discourse" so that there was no need for people to make a fuss about it too often, Rachmat said. He said his ministry was not in a position to decide whether the plan would be continued or not but it would keep abreast of the process, among others, by requiring the project to be covered by an environmental impact analysis (Amdal). The minister said the analysis would have to be not only of the project`s physical impact but also of its social impact. "The people`s objections to the development of a nuclear power reactor are a valuable input for the government," Witoelar said. He also said on the list of various alternative energy sources Indonesia intended to develop to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel oils, nuclear power actually ranked lower than biofuel, wind power, geothermal and others.
