U.S. firm interested in garbage project
U.S. firm interested in garbage project
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While the city administration is nursing a headache due to the
garbage disposal problem that will likely linger after the 104-
hectare Bantar Gebang dump site is closed, an American company
has emerged with a proposal to treat the 6,000 tons of daily
garbage produced by Jakarta.
Officials of the International Construction and Marketing
Company (ICMC) and its local partners met on Tuesday with
Governor Sutiyoso to explain its technology, which converts solid
waste into electricity.
Keith Brown, senior executive at ICMC, said that with the
steam from the 6,000 tons of garbage produced by residents, its
power plant could produce between 1,500 to 1,600 megawatts of
electricity per day.
Another ICMC employee said that in order to produce 1,500 to
1,600 megawatts of electricity, the plant would require 6,000
tons of garbage and 14,000 tons of coal.
Brown said the Florida-based company was ready to invest some
US$4.7 billion (Rp 40 trillion) to construct the power plant
within three to four years, if the city administration gave the
green light.
He asserted that the technology was environmentally friendly
and produced zero-waste. The power plant also produces some 200
million liters of clean water as a result of desalinating sea
water, which is used as a coolant.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, assistant to the city
secretary for development affairs Irzal Djamal said that the
project, as proposed by a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU)
by ICMC, seemed interesting.
He said officials from the city administration, particularly
from the legal bureau, would study the proposal closely before
making a decision.
"We have asked the legal bureau at City Hall to study the
draft MOU, but for the time being, I can say it seems that there
is no article in the draft which burdens the city
administration," Irzal added.
Antonius B. Sartono of Bhineka Persada Marketindo, a local
partner of ICMC, said that it had earlier signed an MOU with PT
Indonesian Power, which was ready to buy the electricity produced
by the power plant.
Antonius said that the city administration would only need to
prepare some 30 hectares of land located close to the sea as part
of the project.
He added that the technology was already being used in a
number of states in the U.S., like New York and Texas.
Last year, Australian company Global Grids offered a Rp 50
trillion investment to develop a sewage system in Jakarta, but
the MOU was not followed up, as the city did not agree with the
conditions and requirements.
The city has said that it would not extend the agreement for
the Bantar Gebang dump site in Bekasi, which is to terminate at
the end of the year.
Sutiyoso said the administration is ready to manage some 4,000
tons of garbage next year jointly with its business partners in
Cilincing, North Jakarta; Duri Kosambi, West Jakarta; and in
Bojong, Bogor.
However, a visit to the three locations revealed that the
construction of a garbage treatment facility was underway only in
Bojong village, with a capacity only 1,500 tons per day.