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AKARTA: Former president BJ Habibie, once dubbed the country's technology standard bearer, is throwing his weight behind the government's plan to accelerate nuclear power plant development in Indonesia.

Habibie, also a former research and technology minister during president Soeharto's administration, said Indonesia urgently needed nuclear power to solve its electricity crisis.

"Nuclear is part of the solution, not part of the problem," he said when attending a gathering in which five non-governmental organizations declared their support for nuclear power.

The government's plan to build a nuclear power plant on mount Muria on the north coast of Central Java has met strong resistance from environmental activists who are worried about its ecological impact.

"It's now or never," Habibie said echoing a statement made by Hilmi Panigoro, chairman of the Indonesian Society for Renewable Energy, who also addressed the gathering.