Groundbreaking of PLTU Batang scheduled for June
Tuesday, April 7 2015 - 12:00 PM WIB
State owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is optimistic that groundbreaking for the 2x1000 MW PLTU Batang power plant megaproject in Central Java could be held sometime in June of this year.
?We shall invite President Joko Widodo to come to the project?s site in May. There are still small plots of lands which have not been acquired. PLN will settle the matter through court. PLN will place cash compensation for the lands at court. This mechanism is considered effective to solve the matter,? PLN?s President Director Sofyan Basyir said on Tuesday.
Construction of the US$4 billion key project has suffered lengthy delays after its developer PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia (BPI) faced difficulties in completing the acquisition of the required 226 hectares of land amid opposition from some land owners and environmental activists.
The government then assigned in November of last year state-owned electricity company PT PLN to help BPI in completing the acquisition of a remaining 29 ha of land for the project by applying Law No 2/2012 on land procurement for public infrastructure facilities.
BPI is a consortium comprising of Jakarta listed coal giant PT Adaro Energy Tbk, and Japan?s J-Power Energy Power Development Co. Ltd. and Itochu Corp.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon