Govt offers geothermal investment opportunities to New Zealand
Monday, November 16 2009 - 02:59 AM WIB
Industry Minister MS Hidayat said on Saturday that the offer was made at a bilateral meeting between Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key in Singapore in the run-up to the 17th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
"New Zealand has geothermal technology and therefore we discussed it with Prime Minister John Key," Hidayat said after accompanying President Yudhoyono at the bilateral meeting.
"We offered geothermal investment opportunities to New Zealand," Hidayat said, adding that to develop geothermal energy, the government should immediately issue a relevant pricing policy so that the investors who had interest in it could calculate the continuation of the investment in that field.
Asked about New Zealand`s reaction to the offer, Hidayat said Prime Minister Key asked Indonesia to decide the kind of geothermal development and then the New Zealand government would encourage private parties in the country to explore it in Indonesia.
"We have yet to touch on the value because we have yet to offer it specifically. We only said we want investment in the geothermal sector," Hidayat said, adding that a similar offer was also made to Japan. (*)