Govt to build dam, hydro power plant in N. Aceh

The government via the Public Works Ministry plans to build a multipurpose dam called Jambo Aye Dam in North Aceh, Aceh Province, to provide irrigation to local rice field, help prevent flood, and to support a planned 110 MW hydro power plant.

Head of the North Aceh Planning and Development Agency (Bappeda) Zulkifli Yusuf was quoted by AtjehPost.com Sunday as saying that the Ministry had conducted field survey to develop the more than US$310.8 million dam facility, whose construction is projected to start in 2018 once the necessary land acquisition has been completed.

The planned power plant project is crucial to help resolve the expected electricity shortage in Aceh. Electricity demand in the province currently stands at around 255 MW, of which 180 MW has been supplied from neighboring North Sumatra province. Demand is projected to jump to about 600 MW in 2020, Zulkifli said. (*)