VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A BNPB representative receives protective and diagnostic gear donated by Hyundai Engineering Co Ltd. (Antara / Personal documentation)

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has received assistance in the form of protective gear and COVID-19 diagnostic equipment from South Korean construction and civil engineering company Hyundai Engineering Co Ltd. BNPB chair Doni Monardo expressed his appreciation for the assistance in a written statement released in Jakarta on Tuesday.

"We are very grateful for this support, and I believe this donation will help Indonesia overcome COVID-19. I also hope it will strengthen relations between Korea and Indonesia," he said.

Hyundai had earlier made a donation to Pertamedika.

The total value of the two donations is pegged at Rp5 billion. The donations comprise 4,800 units of diagnostic equipment, 260 thousand units of masks, and 1,500 units of thermometers. The donated items will be distributed throughout Indonesia by BNPB.

Hyundai has stated that, as a company operating in Indonesia, it has a social responsibility to help the Indonesian people deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd is an EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) company from South Korea, which focuses on oil and gas, electricity, and infrastructure projects.

Currently, Hyundai is collaborating with PT Pertamina (Persero) on the construction of a national strategic mega-project, namely the refinery development master plan (RDMP) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, which is one of six refineries being built by Pertamina.

The six refinery mega-project comprises four RDMP expansion projects and two new grassroots refinery (GRR) projects.

RDMP Balikpapan has said it plans to increase its refinery processing capacity from 260 thousand barrels per day to 360 thousand barrels per day, improve the quality of fuel products from Euro II equivalent to Euro V equivalent, and reduce the diesel import burden by 17 percent as diesel production has increased by 23 percent, or 30 thousand barrels per day .

The RDMP will also produce 230 thousand tons of new propylene products every year. Phase 1 of the US$6.5-billion project is targeted to be complete by 2023, and Phase 2 by 2025. (ANTARA)