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Minister pessimistic 35,000 MW program achievable by 2019
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan has expressed his pessimism that the government could achieve its target to construct 35,000 megawatt (MW) power plants in 2019.
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Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan (left) and his deputy Arcandra Tahar (right) attend a hearing with House of Representatives' Commission VII in Jakarta on Nov. 22, 2016 (Antara/Agung Rajasa)
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nergy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan has voiced pessimism that the government will meet its goal to construct power plants to produce 35,000 megawatts (MW) by 2019.
“We cannot develop all the projects by 2019,” said Jonan in Jakarta on Wednesday as reported by tempo.co, claiming the economic slowdown would hamper efforts to complete the ambitious electricity program.
He said the projects were designed with the assumption that the economy would grow about 8 percent annually.
However, in the last two years, the economy grew about 5 percent. “This year, we expect 5.2 percent growth,” he added.
(Read also: 35,000 MW target on schedule: Luhut)
However, Jonan assured that the government would continue to develop the power plants in an attempt to meet the increasing demand for electricity in the country.
Previously, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan claimed that the government’s plan to produce an additional 35,000 MW of electricity to meet demand by 2019 was on schedule.
Meanwhile, National Energy Council (DEN) member Dwi Hary Soeryadi said on Monday that electricity demand would hit 114,000 MW in 2025 and 430,000 MW in 2050.
He warned that if the government did not meet its goal of producing an extra 35,000 MW by 2019, the country would face a serious power shortage. (bbn)
