Malaysia and RI to set up $7.5b power plant project
Malaysia and RI to set up $7.5b power plant project
KUALA LUMPUR (UPI): Malaysia and Indonesia will sign a joint
venture agreement this weekend to build a US$7.5 billion coal-
fired power plant, a company spokesman said yesterday.
Located in southern Sumatra, Indonesia, the plant will have an
eventual generating capacity of 5,000 megawatts of electricity,
Sikap Project Management Service's executive director Ravindra
Nathan said.
He said the project, when implemented, will form part of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Super Grid which enables
the cross-border transfer of power to meet the growing demand of
Indonesia and Malaysia as well as Thailand, Singapore and the
Philippines. Brunei is the other member of the six-nation
grouping.
The signing of agreement between Sikap Ipp Transystem, the
Malaysian consortium led by Spms, and Indonesian consortium Pt
Bukit Asam will be witnessed by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
who will be in Jakarta on a two-day working visit starting
Friday.
The bulk of the electricity of the massive project will be for
consumption in Indonesia and for export to Malaysia, Ravindra
said.
The $7.5 billion estimated cost of the project does not
include the construction of transmission systems, he said. The
cost of building overland transmission lines and submarine cable
interconnections will amount to another $2 billion.
This will bring the total cost of the project to about $9.5
billion, making it the largest of its kind in Asean, he added.
Ravindra said the project, which will be undertaken in phases,
will take about 15 to 20 years to complete. The first phase will
involve the construction of a 500 megawatt unit on a 50-50 basis
by Malaysia and Indonesia.
The "mine mouth" power generation project will make available
to consumers cheaper power through cost savings associated with
not having to transport the coal to the generating plant.
"Mine mouth" power generations means that the power station
will be located near the mouth of the coal mine.
There are vast coal deposits in Indonesia. Known resources are
estimated to be enough to last 50 years.