Chinese company wins Cilacap power plant EPC project

State-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has named Chinese firm National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) as EPC contractor to build the 1x600 MW Jawa Tengah 2 coal-fired power plant in Cilacap, Central Java.

Agung Nugroho, PLN's director of construction, said that the Chinese company would team up with its local partner PT Rekayasa Industri to build the power plant.

The Cilacap power plant is expected to begin commercial operation at the end of 2011, he said.

The Chinese firm won the EPC contract after PLN retendered the contract following a failure to find a winner in the first tender. All participants in the first tender offered bids higher that the ceililng set by PLN. Eighteen firms participated in the first tender, including Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Chengda, CITIC and Zeland.

Agung did not say the development costs of the new power plant but said that Chinese company and its local partner had to provide a larger part of the required funds because PLN would only be able to provide 15 percent of them.

?The letter of intent for the project has been signed. We hope the contract could be signed next month,? Agung was quoted as saying by Koran Tempo.

The power plant will be one of 10 large scale coal-fired power plants to be built in Java as part of the government?s fast-track program to provide additional power supply of 10,000 megawatt. (*)