BPI wins court battle over land dispute

PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia (BPI) has won a court battle over land dispute in relation to the planned giant coal fired power plant in Batang, Central Java.

Kontan reported on Thursday that the Supreme Court on February 24 confirmed an earlier ruling issued by the Semarang District Court in Central Java in favor of BPI.

A villager had prevously filed a lawsuit challenging a Central Java governor ruling on the allocation of land in Batang for the planned 2x1,000 MW coal-fired power plant. The villager?s land is affected by the project.

BPI is a consortium comprising of IDX-listed coal mining firm PT Adaro Energy Tbk, Itochu and J-Power.

BPI President Director Mohammad Effendi welcomes the court ruling, saying that it would help smooth development of the project. He said that the project is currently at the stage preparing for construction process, which is expected to be completed in 2020.

Adaro said previously that financial close for the Batang project is expected i June of this year. (*)