JBIC provides loans to renovate old electricity plants

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will provide export credits of up to 27.5 billion or about US$200 million to renovate old electricity plants in Indonesia, Investor Daily reported on Saturday.

The loan commitment was signed in Jakarta on Friday by Minister of Finance Jusuf Anwar on the behalf of the Indonesian government and Kazunori Nishida, the JBIC's director general International Department for Asia and Oceania.

Nishida said that the export credits would be allocated to renovate old electricity plants in Indonesia. "Besides export credits, the Japanese government also provides soft loans through its official development aid (ODA)," he said.

Director General of State Treasury at the Ministry of Finance Mulia P. Nasution said that the agreement constituted as an umbrella agreement of the Japanese bank's commitment to finance the renovation of the country's old electricity plants.

"More specific agreement is needed for each of the projects to be financed by these export credits," he said.(*)