Seven projects shelved again
JAKARTA (JP): The government announced last night that it was shelving seven megaprojects and put another eight under review, for the second time in five months.
The decision was contained in a decree signed by President Soeharto yesterday, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono was quoted by Antara as saying.
The news agency said Moerdiono phoned it with the story.
The 15 projects -- eight power projects, four toll road projects, one airport project, one building project and one equipment-provision project -- were among dozens originally shelved or reviewed in September in a bid to save billions of dollars of badly needed foreign currency.
They were revived Nov. 1, but the presidential decree only became known to the public a week after it was signed.
When news of their resurrection came, there were allegations of nepotism because they were projects tied to politically well- connected business groups.
The sudden about face also raised doubts about the government's commitment and ability to see through tough economic reforms.
The latest decision was taken by the government to reaffirm its commitment to handle the monetary crisis, Antara said.
The government had intended to continue with the projects, but after another review, it was learned they required huge financing that could undermine the government's effort to deal with the monetary crisis, Moerdiono said.
"That's why the President decided to shelve them," he said.
One of the projects affected is the controversial Tanjung Jati C power project in Jepara, Central Java. The 1,320-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power project worth $1.77 billion was awarded to Consolidated Electric Power Asia (CEPA) Indonesia in reward for its willingness to reduce the price of another power project, Tanjung Jati B, also in Jepara.
Other power projects include the 1,320-MW coal-fired Tanjung Jati A power plant, also in Central Java, being developed by a consortium made up of President Soeharto's daughter Siti Hediati Prabowo and the Bakrie Group; the 330-MW Sarulla geothermal power project in North Sumatra owned by a consortium of the U.S. Unocal Corp and the Nusamba Group of Muhammad "Bob" Hasan; and the 55-MW Patuha geothermal power plant in West Java by a consortium controlled by California Energy.
The other power projects are the Karaha geothermal power plant, unit one and two of the Drajat geothermal power plant, the Asahan I hydropower plant and the Palembang Timur combined-cycle power plant in South Sumatra, which is sponsored by PT Astra International. (emb/prb)
Table A: Projects put under review
No. Project Value (US$m) Location
1. Semarang Section C toll road na C. Java
2. Ujungpandang toll road 51 S. Sulawesi
3. Pondok Aren-Serpong toll road na W. Java
4. Jamsostek tower project na Jakarta
5. Patuha 1 geothermal power plant 95 W. Java
6. Asahan 1 hydropower plant 180 N. Sumatra
7. Tanjung Jati A steam power plant 1,660 C. Java
8. Tanjung Jati C steam power plant 1,770 C. Java
Table B: Projects postponed
No. Project Value (US$m) Location
1. Aloha Waru-Tg. Perak toll road 247 E. Java
2. Karaha 1 geothermal power plant 380 W. Java
3. Sarulla geothermal power plant 330 N. Sumatra
4. Darajat 1, 2 geothermal power plant 475 W. Java
5. Palembang Timur combined
cycle power plant 168.5 S. Sumatra
6. Construction and management of
new airport in Medan na N. Sumatra
7. Improvement of meteorological and
geophysical equipment project na