Jonan says completion of 35 GW program delayed to 2024-2025

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan said that the government?s five-year program to develop a combined 35,000 MW power plants in the country is now expected to be completed in 2024-2025, a delay from the initial target of 2019.

He said in a statement issued on Tuesday that the delay was related to the slower than anticipated economic growth. He pointed out that the 35,000 MW program was initially assumed on an annual economic growth rate of 7-8 percent, but over the past three years, the country?s annual economic growth hovered at only around 5 percent as the country?s economy has been also affected by the global economic slowdown.

Jonan, however, said that the government expected contracts for the development of all planned power plants under the program will already have been signed by next year. ?I?m confident that in 2018, all (35,000 MW projects) have been contracted, at the latest early 2019,? he said.

He expected that only 19,000-20,000 MW will be completed by 2019. As per first semester of this year, about 768 MW of the power plant projects have reached commissioning or commercial operation stage, around 14,193 MW still under construction, 8,550 MW of the projects have signed power purchase agreement (PPA), 5,155 MW still under procurement phase, and 7170 MW still in the planning stage.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak