Iran to build 48 power plants in RI

Iran and Indonesia have held new round of talks to commission building of 48 power plants in the Southeast Asian country, top officials of the countries said.

Iran?s Minister of Energy Hamid Chitchian and Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Sofyan Djalil hosted a conference in Tehran where they agreed on building of 48 small-scale hydroelectric power plants; the main contractor of the projects will be Iranian companies, local reports said Monday.

Djalil and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said were in Tehran over the weekend in a bid to help boost economic cooperation between the two countries particularly in the energy sector.

?Iranian power plant companies, whose technical capabilities are internationally competitive, could help Indonesia in building power plants; currently, 11,700 MW of hydroelectricity is distributed in national grid, which indicate the capabilities necessary for cooperation with Indonesian government to that end,? Chitchian said.

?Indonesia plans to commission and build 48 power plants in line with climatic changes in the country; similarly, the country would commission small-scale hydroelectric power plants with 1-10 MW capacity range; Iranian contractors would be of great help in Indonesian electricity market in this specific activity,? Djalil said, but fell short of providing further details. (*)