Power project in Sulawesi

JAKARTA (JP): A joint venture of Indonesian and Australian companies will establish a gas-fueled steam power station in Sengkang, South Sulawesi, with a capacity of 135 megawatts, an executive says

A director of PT Trihasra Sarana Jaya Purnama, Herman Lelana Achfas, reported to South Sulawesi Governor H.Z.B. Palaguna in Ujungpandang earlier this week that the station's construction, estimated to cost US$170 million, will probably start in February 1996.

The joint venture, according to Herman, involves Trihasra Sarana Jaya Purnama, Energy Equity Corporation of Australia and PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada, a company controlled by President Soeharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana.

Herman said that the planned power station will receive supplies of natural gas from the nearby Wajo gas field, which was discovered in 1970.

He said the joint venture will sell its electricity to the state electricity company (PLN), which will distribute it to local consumers, including the state-owned cement company PT Semen Tonasa and the nickel mining firm PT Inco.(31)