Bangka waiting for investors to build its power plant

State owned electricity company PLN will build a steam power plant in Bangka island to cope with the shortage of the electricity supply on the island. The construction of the 2 x 25 MW-power plant will cost about US$50 million, Bangka Post reported on Wednesday.

Speaking during his trip in Pangkal Pinang, PLN?s president director Eddie Widiono said that the construction of the new plant on the island would be the best alternative possible in coping with the shortage of the electricity supply on the island because taking electricity supply through the company?s interconnection program would be much more costly.

As an island, it would be difficult to connect the local electricity grid to the regional power interconnection facilities in the parts of South Sumatra, he said.

Eddie, however, said that the realization to build the power plant would rely on the participation of investors. "We want to build the power plant as soon as possible but it relies on investors. If there is an investors willing to cooperate, then we begin the construction," Eddie said. (*)