Italian investors eye North Sumatra's geothermal energy

A number of Italian investors will visit North Sumatra next month to study the possibility of developing the province's geothermal energy, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday.

The head of the province's mining and energy office, Washington Tambunan, said in Medan on Tuesday that during their visit, the Italian investors would sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the local administration.

He said that the MOU would be used as an umbrella agreement for the possible involvement of the Italian companies in the development of the province's geothermal energy and in other business sectors.

According to Washington, the visit of the Italian investors is a follow-up of a preliminary meeting between the local government's senior officials and the Italian businessmen recently.

He said that a number of the province's senior officials visited Italia in December on the invitation of the Italian government. During the visit, North Sumatra officials offered investment opportunities including the development of geothermal potential to the country's businessmen. (*)