ISDN begins construction of hydropower plant in S. Sulawesi
Wednesday, July 8 2015 - 01:17 AM WIB
SGX-listed ISDN Holdings Limited, an integrated solutions provider for diverse industries, is on track to developing the 9.7 megawatt (MW) Datara mini-hydropower plant (MHPP) in South Sulawesi, Indonesia as it witnessed its recent ground breaking ceremony by officials from the local Gowa District Government - the joint venture partner of the hydropower project.
ISDN said in a statement last week that attending the ground breaking ceremony included the Gowa Regent Ichsan Yasin Limpo as well as the South Sulawesi Governor, Syahrul Yasin Limpo.
The District Government, through its holding company, Gowa Perusda, owns 20 percent of the joint venture entity while ISDN through its Indonesian subsidiary, PT SDM, owns 49 percent and a local business partner PT Bukit Lau owns the remaining 31 percent.
PT SDM will offer support in the form of financing and developing the infrastructure of the Datara MHPP while the Gowa Government will assist in the necessary land acquisition as well as the obtainment of the requisite relevant permits and approvals such as the inprinciple approval and location and environmental clearance permits, ISDN explained.
Teo Cher Koon, ISDN Holdings Limited Managing Director and President said, ?In addition to the assistance rendered as stipulated in the joint venture agreement, we receive invaluable support from the Gowa Government in garnering the amicable acceptance of the larger Gowa community, particularly the villagers whose land was affected as a result of the developmental work; they were duly compensated either monetarily or with land or paddyfield substitution.?
The Datara MHPP is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete and is estimated to cost US$20 million to build; it will be funded by a combination of debt and equity financing. Based on the new upwardly revised tariff rate of Rp 1,290 or 9.7 US cents, it is expected to generate annual revenue of US$5.3 million. The running costs are expected to hover between 0.5 and 0.7 US cents per KWh.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak