Bakrie unit secures pipe deal from PGN

PT Bakrie & Brothers, a diversified group with companies in the infrastructure, plantation, property and telecommunications sectors, announced on Tuesday that its unit and partner had sealed a contract worth Rp 374 billion (US$38.1 million).

The contract was hammered out between state-owned gas utility firm PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) and a consortium consisting of PT Bakrie Pipe Industries and PT Bumi Kaya Steel Industries, in which the latter would supply gas pipelines.

The pipelines will be used for the construction of PGN's gas distribution facilities in West Java, which will have a total length of around 272 kilometers and diameter of between 4 inches and 24 inches.

"PGN and the consortium officially inked the contract on Dec. 22," said Bakrie & Brothers spokesman Lalu Mara Satria Wangsa in a press statement.

Publicly listed Bakrie & Brothers is owned by the family of Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie.

Efforts to confirm whether or not the contract had gone through a tender process were unsuccessful.

The first delivery of the pipelines is expected to arrive by March next year, and will be installed in distribution areas around Cikampek, Karawang, Bekasi, Bogor, Jakarta, Tangerang and Banten.

PGN plans to eventually connect this distribution network with its transmission facilities in South Sumatra. If connected, the company will be able to supply 650 million standard cubic feet per day from the Gresik and Pagardewa plants in South Sumatra. -- JP