M.L. Cass to build RI plant

M.L. Cass to build RI plant

CALGARY, Canada (Reuters): Canada's M.L. Cass Petroleum Corp said on Wednesday it agreed to acquire 95 percent of an Indonesian company in a deal that would allow it to build and operate a US$130 million power plant at Pomalaa, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

M.L. Cass said the firm to be acquired, PT Pomalaa Power Co, had a special right to design, finance, build and operate the coal-fired plant. The Canadian firm would purchase the 95-percent voting stake for US$1 million.

M.L. Cass said the license to build the facility was granted by PT Aneka Tambang, a publicly-traded mining firm that is 65- percent owned by the Indonesian government.

Aneka Tambang has conditionally agreed to a 13-year U.S. dollar-based power purchase contract with PT Pomalaa Power for a related ferro-nickel smelter.

Construction of the plant was slated to start in October, and the Canadian company said PT Pomalaa Power was negotiating with two major Southeast Asia contractors to provide US$90 million in financing.

Also, Aneka Tambang had conditionally agreed to provide US$20 million in financing in the form of forward power purchases.