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State firms to spend $2.5b on power plant, transmission projects

State-owned companies have expressed their commitment to support the construction of new power plant and transmission networks worth about US$2

Khoirul Amin and Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta, Medan
Wed, April 9, 2014

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State firms to spend $2.5b on power plant, transmission projects

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tate-owned companies have expressed their commitment to support the construction of new power plant and transmission networks worth about US$2.5 billion in Java and Sumatra to cope with the sharp electricity demand increases on the two islands.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said in Jakarta on Tuesday that industrial bonded zone operator Kawasan Berikat Nusantara (KBN) would be among the state companies to enter the electricity business.

He said that KBN, which operates an industrial bonded zone in Jakarta, would build a coal-fired power plant with a capacity of 2 x 1,000 megawatts (MW) in North Jakarta, while other state firms, including state electricity company PLN, would build a power grid along the eastern part of Sumatra.

The power plant and the transmission network are estimated to cost around Rp 20 trillion (US$1.7 billion) and $896 million, respectively.

'€œFor the power plant project in Jakarta, we will invite private companies to participate in funding and technology,'€ Dahlan said after attending the inauguration ceremony of the first workers'€™ hospital in KBN'€™s industrial zone.

KBN president director Sattar Taba said on a similar occasion that his firm would form a consortium with PLN and a Chinese company to build and operate the power plant.

'€œAll companies have agreed, and we are about to sign the deal. We will hold 15 percent in the consortium'€™s stakes,'€ he said, refusing to disclose the names of the private companies to reporters.

KBN was in the process of acquiring 100 hectares of land, with a value of Rp 3 trillion, to support the project, he said.

'€œWe expect the land to be available by the end of the year, so construction of the plant can commence in the first quarter of next year,'€ he said, adding that the power plant would aim to supply electricity throughout Java.

Dahlan said that several state enterprises involved in construction, namely Adhi Karya, Hutama Karya, Pembangunan Perumahan (PTPP), Waskita Karya and Wijaya Karya (WIKA) would join PLN in building the 120-kilometer transmission network across the eastern coast of Sumatra.

The network would be able to distribute 10,151 MW of electricity to add to the island'€™s current electricity supply of only 5,000 MW. '€œThe transmission network is very important to support the island'€™s growing economy,'€ Dahlan said on Tuesday.

Dahlan told reporters he was sure that transmission works would go according to plan because the project had received strong support from provincial and local governments.

'€œWe met with the administrations of South Sumatra, Jambi and Riau on Monday night and we reached an agreement that they will hold stakes in the project in return for helping us ease land acquisitions,'€ he said.

North Sumatra Governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho said separately in Medan on Monday that he lauded the government'€™s move and would help PLN in run the project.

'€œLand acquisition usually hampers PLN'€™s electricity transmission network projects. I believe that with earlier and better preparation, we can handle that old problem,'€ he said.

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