Govt to set up land acquisition task force to help PLN

The government plans to set up an inter-ministerial task force to help state-owned electricity firm PT. Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) in complete land acquisition process for power plant and transmission projects, Investor Daily reported on Wednesday.

Director General of Electricity, Jarman said that the inter-ministerial task force include the National Land Agency (BPN), Ministry of Forestry, Minister of Domestic Affairs, and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as members.

?The task force hopefully can already be set up by end of this year,? Jarman said.

He explained that land acquisition has been seen as the main obstacle for PLN to develop power plant and electricity transmission projects as in many cases the land turns out to be located in forest area, which requires approval from the ministry of forestry, or in other cases particularly for transmission project the land is located in residential areas which requires proper valuation of the land.

Elsewhere, Jarman said that the electrification ratio in Indonesia as of September of this year has reached 80.1 percent, which means that around 12.5 million households in the country has yet to enjoy electricity. Current installed capacity is 44,420 MW, of which 34,388 MW is owned by PLN. ?The target is for the electrification ratio to increase to 99 percent in 2020,? Jarman said. (*)