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.