Commodities: Adaro fuels Asia’s hunger for power

The chartered flight from Banjarmasin to Warukin in South Kalimantan is a short, bumpy ride. Before the small plane takes off, earplugs are handed out to the passengers to block the noise screaming from the engine. But once airborne, it turns out nobody is bothered about the din. They are concentrating instead on the spectacular views.

South Kalimantan’s arable, green land has an unusual order to it. Some of it has been carefully sectioned into identical squares and used to grow oil palms.