The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The coal-fired Cilacap power plant in Central Java is expected to start full operation in May, four months ahead of schedule.
Ilham Rasyid, director of the plant's operator PT Sumber Segara Primadaya (S2P), said in Cilacap late last week the plant's first unit, with a capacity of 300 megawatts (MW), began operating in the middle of last month.
""We hope construction of the power plant's second unit, which will also have a capacity of 300 MW, can be completed in May so the plant will be in full operation before the end of the month,"" Ilham said.
He said the power plant's first unit started supplying electricity through the Java and Bali transmission grid Feb. 20.
""It only took 22 months to finish the construction of the first unit,"" Ilham said.
The Cilacap plant is one of several new power plants being built to cope with power shortages in Central Java and Yogyakarta.
State-owned electricity firm PT PLN plans to increase the power supply in Java and Bali by 2,600 MW this year, with the operation of three new power plants, including the Cilacap plant.
The other two plants are the coal-fired Tanjung Jati B plant in Central Java, with a capacity of 1,320 MW, and the Cilegon power plant (740 MW) in West Java.
S2P's director of operations, Dandung Agus Sulaiman, said the Cilacap coal-fired plant, which cost about US$510 million to build, would help PLN save 1.1 billion liters of fuel a year.
""This means savings of about Rp 5.1 trillion ($536.8 million) per year,"" he said, adding that the plant would require 2.2 million tons of coal annually.
""We have signed contracts with three coal producers -- Adaro, Kodeco and Jorong -- to supply coal for five years,"" he said.
The power supply from the plant will be sold to PLN at 4.57 U.S. cent per kWh.
Chengda Engineering Corporation of China is taking the lead in constructing the power project, which is financed by a $408 million loan from a syndicate of Chinese banks.
Bank Nasional Indonesia has issued a letter of credit to S2P for $200 million to help with the financing.
The economic chancellor at the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia, Tai Wei Wen, who visited the plant Thursday, said the power project was an example of concrete cooperation between the two countries.
""I hope we can also cooperate on other projects,"" he said.
S2P is a joint venture between PLN's subsidiary PT Pembangkit Jawa-Bali and PT Sumberenergi Sakti Prima, with share ownership of 49 percent and 51 percent, respectively.(01)
