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VP wants power project red tape-free
The development of the 10,000-megawatt electricity project meant to solve the power crisis should not be hampered by long and chaotic bureaucracy procedures, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Sunday
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The development of the 10,000-megawatt electricity project meant to solve the power crisis should not be hampered by long and chaotic bureaucracy procedures, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Sunday.
"As stipulated by the regulation, this is an accelerated project. This should not be slowed by long, unnecessary bureaucracy and non-substantial legal issues," Kalla said during his visit to the Labuan power plant project in Pandeglang, Banten province.
The Labuan plant is one of 10 power plants prepared by the government under the 10,000 MW power project, launched in 2006 to anticipate the increasing electricity needs in Java and Bali. The two islands' demand increases an average of 6.72 percent every year.
This project is also designed to accelerate energy diversification for power plants. All the power plants under the project will be fired by coal.
Kalla said the project was the answer to the power crisis already seen in many parts of the country.
"We have ordered industries to move their working hours to the weekend. But this is just a temporary solution. If we really want to solve the power crisis in Java and Bali, we must finish this project," Kalla said, referring to the recently issued regulation to shift peak hours for electricity demand.
Under the regulation, issued last week, manufacturing firms in Java and Bali are obliged to move two working days each month to Saturday and Sunday.
This is effective from July 21 to 2009. Companies failing to comply will receive a cut in electricity supply.
State-owned power firm PT PLN plans to finish the 10,000 MW project in 2011, a timeline Kalla said was achievable.
"From the plants I have visited, I can say that the project has progressed ahead of schedule," he said without elaborating.
The Labuan power plant has two plants, each with a capacity of 300 MW. The project's total investment reaches US$290 million and is mainly covered by a consortium of domestic banks including Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Mandiri and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI).
"We have finished 64 percent of the project," Labuan project director Andi Paherangi said.
Kalla also visited another power plant project in Indramayu, West Java, also under the 10,000 MW project.
The Indramayu power plant will have three plants, each of which has a 330 MW capacity.
Indramayu project director Mudayat said the project needed Rp 8.7 trillion in investment. The investment would be financed mainly by the Bank of China, with the support of local banks including BNI, BRI, Bank Mandiri and Bank Central Asia (BCA).
Mudayat said the first power plant was scheduled to start operation next September, with the second and third in December 2008 and March 2010.
Kalla said that once the 10,000 MW project was finished, Java would no longer face blackouts. "I hope next year we can start to break free from power crises," he said.
