Palembang, 12 July 2021 - Sinar Mas, through its business pillar, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas, is committed to supporting the provision of liquid oxygen and oxygen to meet the oxygen needs of Covid-19 patients in a number of areas.
This commitment will be realized through the procurement of oxygen stock of 1,200 tons per month which will be supplied by PT. OKI Pulp & Paper Mills, PT. Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper- Perawang Mills and PT. Papyrus Pulp & Paper Industry. The 1,200 tons of liquid oxygen are expected to be able to fill around 1,000,000 medical oxygen tubes with a volume of 1M3.
During the pandemic, OKI mills are optimizing their daily oxygen production in order to supply the oxygen for COVID-19 patients.
"By optimizing the production of liquid oxygen, we can help overcome oxygen shortages in the areas of South Sumatra, Riau, Jambi and Java," said Sinar Mas Managing Director Saleh Husin, Monday (12/7).
This statement was conveyed after the implementation and initial delivery of liquid oxygen to the Provincial Governments of South Sumatra and West Java Provincial Governments, in order to support the availability of oxygen in the two regions.
“This is purely our CSR program because we see the high demand for oxygen and the scarcity of availability in the community. We hope that this step can help the government to immediately reduce the case of Covid-19 in Indonesia," Saleh added.
This initial shipment was originally scheduled to be followed up with deliveries to other areas in need.
The initial shipment was carried out using 2 ISO Tank units with a capacity of 15 tons (total 30 tons) to be transported to the distribution center and then filled into oxygen tubes to be immediately distributed to hospitals in need.
In this inaugural delivery, PT. OKI Pulp & Paper Mills coordinated with the South Sumatra Regional Police (Polda) and the launch event was carried out by the Governor of South Sumatra witnessing Head of Regional Police (Kapolda) of South Sumatra and Pangdam Sriwijaya, to be handed over to the relevant agencies tasked with distributing this free oxygen to hospitals in need.
The Governor of South Sumatra, H. Herman Deru, appreciated the initiative of Sinar Mas in providing oxygen for medical facilities in needs.
“This is all initiated by the South Sumatra Police Chief who has invited companies in South Sumatra that produce oxygen to provide medical assistance to hospitals in need. Oxygen is the most important means of life for humans," he said.
Sinar Mas' initiative to contribute in providing oxygen for handling COVID-19 was also appreciated by the Ministry of Environment (KLHK).
“The handling of COVID-19 requires the participation of various parties. This oxygen donation from Sinar Mas is a tangible manifestation of the contribution of business actors in the forestry sector, to help the burden of the central government," said Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Bambang Hendroyono, who is also the person in charge of the KLHK Covid Task Force in a separate location.
PT. OKI Pulp & Paper Mills is one of Sinar Mas' business units operating in Ogan Komering Ilir Regency, South Sumatra Province, which receives raw material supplies from forestry business actors.
As a company that also holds the status of a National Vital Object, apart from being a driver of the economy, it also has a very strategic function to support the government in overcoming Covid-19.
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