P

roblems related to land acquisition have halted the development of a 2 x 1,000 megawatt steam-fueled power plant (PLTU) in Batang, Central Java, that was initiated some two and a half years ago.

The Rp 35 trillion (US$2.9 billion) project needs a total of 226 hectares of land in three subdistricts of Ponowareng, Ujungnegoro and Karanggeneng, but some 15 percent has not yet been acquired due to objections from locals.

'€œThe people'€™s concerns are more about their occupations. They are farmers. They are afraid they will find it difficult to earn a living from other jobs that they have never mastered if they no longer have fields to cultivate,'€ Ponowareng subdistrict head Darsini said on Friday.

Darsini said there were 20 Ponowareng residents whose land was to be bought for the project, priced at Rp 100,000 per square meter. In total, the land area is about three hectares, excluding some other five hectares belonging to the subdistrict administration.

'€œAs the subdistrict head, I don'€™t want my people get confused. I want them to continue living comfortably,'€ Darsini said.

The Batang PLTU, which uses supercritical pulverized coal technology, is funded by the Japanese government through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

To realize the project, the government appointed PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia (BPI), which is a consortium comprising Adaro Energy and two Japanese companies, J-Power and Itochu.

PT BPI director Mohammad Effendi said that his side had been preparing substitute fields for the affected farmers.

He said his company had three obligations in relation to the affected farmers: preparing substitute fields; providing jobs; and giving compensation to affected farmers who had yet to find new jobs.

'€œAll three are already in process. We are preparing 52 hectares, 20 of which have been acquired,'€ Effendi said after a meeting at the Central Java governor'€™s office recently.

He also said that his company was offering a price that was higher than the market price for the land needed for the project, in the hope that, once the land was purchased, the farmers could buy replacement fields in other places.

He said he had a target to finish acquiring 18 of the required 52 hectares in February, while the acquisition of the remaining 12 hectares was expected to be finished by June.

Responding to the protests conducted by people of the three affected subdistricts regarding their concerns that the project was endangering the environment and creating pollution, Effendi said a similar project in Tokyo, Japan, using the same technology, did not create conflict although it was located close to a residential compound.

Effendi also called on the Central Java provincial administration to give support to the mega project so it could run smoothly and according to plan.

Separately, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said that he would try to facilitate a dialogue between the people and the investors, as long as the latter kept their commitment regarding the replacement fields for the affected farmers.

'€œThe compensation must also be clear during their evacuation period,'€ Ganjar said.

He said he would visit the project site, and would hold an internal meeting regarding the development of the project before doing so.

Though some residents still express refusal over the project, many in the three affected subdistricts have agreed to negotiate. However, no agreement has yet been reached in regard to price.