Habibie proposes another megaproject

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie, often called Indonesia's technology tsar, plans a megaproject that would make Irian Jaya an industrial estate.

Habibie presented his idea to build a giant multi-purpose reservoir near Mamberano river to a two-day seminar that brought together academics and potential investors, both local and foreign.

The Mamberano reservoir would mainly be used to generate power and irrigate agricultural land to fulfill Habibie's vision to turn Irian Jaya into a "food basket".

The reservoir will irrigate land suitable for agribusiness and support mining activities in the area. He said that companies which intend to use the hydropower plant would pay for the reservoir's financing plan.

According to DPA, the project would cost US$20 billion.

Habibie said the area would benefit from an integrated economic project which would support Indonesia as a center of sustainable economic growth, fair income distribution and employment opportunities.

Habibie, also head of the government board in charge of planning eastern Indonesia development, said the project is expected to start next year.

Feasibility studies have been offered to German utilities company Siemens, Hochtief and steel company Ferrostahl at a cost of 100,000 Deutsch marks each.

Habibie said his project committee would forward the proposal to the government for consideration and hoped it would be implemented by a presidential decree.

Habibie, who also chairs the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), said the megaproject would produce 6,628 megawatts of electricity offered at "competitive prices".

Chairman of ICMI's Center for Information and Development Studies Adi Sasono said the project is needed to fulfill Indonesia's future energy needs.

He said the project would be constructed on a Build, Operate and Transfer scheme and would take 20 years to be completed.

Governor of Irian Jaya Jacob Pattipi said that his office would mobilize the local people's support for the project and the relocation of 6,000 tribespeople living in the river's vicinity to a new town.

Habibie said the 620 kilometer-long Mamberamo river is a scarcely populated area which he hopes can be transformed to meet Irian Jaya's need for energy in the future.

The seminar's participants included government and private companies from Indonesia, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Japan. (01)