Germany quits power plan

Germany quits power plan

JAKARTA (JP): The German government has decided to cancel its
plan to assist the construction of a hydro-power plant by Sentani
lake in the Jayapura regency of Irian Jaya .

P. Sihombing, the planning director for state-owned
electricity company PLN, said in Jayapura yesterday that the
construction of the planned power station is not economically
viable given the small number of industrial firms operating in
the area.

"The construction cost of the planned power project is too
high, in addition to social and cultural obstacles," he told the
Antara news agency.

He said that PLN planned to build a medium-scale hydro-power
plant in Tami river near the Irian Jaya-Papua New Guinea border
to replace the canceled power plant in Sentani river.

He said that the demand for electricity in Irian Jaya is still
low compared to other provinces.

Only 26 percent of around 2,000 villages in the province have
access to electricity, he said. (hen)