Government plans geothermal SOE

The government plans to set up a new state-owned enterprise (SOE) specializing in geothermal in a bid to help accelerate the development of the geothermal sector in the country.

Secretary of the Directorate General of New and Renewable Energy, Dadan Kusdiana said in a statement on Wednesday the plan has been discussed with the House of Representatives Commission VII on energy and mining during a recent hearing session.

He, however, said it has yet to be decided whether the government will merge existing companies or create a new one. He said that having an SOE specializing in geothermal will help maximize government?s efforts in the development of the country?s geothermal resources. No further details were provided.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak