Megawati inaugurates Asam-Asam power plant
Friday, February 8 2002 - 01:30 PM WIB
The ceremony to inaugurate the plant was held in the province?s capital of Banjarmasin. Present at the ceremony were among others Megawati?s husband Taufik Kiemas, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Minsiter of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno, Minister of and counsellor Masaya Fujiwara of the Japanese embassy in Jakarta.
South Kalimantan?s governor Sjachriel Darham said in his speech during the ceremony that the power plant, which is owned by state electricity company PLN?s subsidiary PT Indonesia Power, now has the power generating power capacity of 130 Megawatt but the capacity would be gradually increased to 660 MW.
The development of the power plant was financed with loans worth US$221 million from the World Bank and the Japanese government and the budget allocation worth Rp 65 billion.
According to him, the power plant will supply power to the province as well as the Central Kalimantan and East Kalimanta provinces.
Sixty five percent of power supplies in South Kalimantan will come from the power plant, he explained.
The power plant will consume 2,300 tons of coal per year but Indonesia Power will find no difficulties in securing coal supplies for the power plant as the province is rich with coal resources.
Megawati marked the operation of the power plant by pressing the button. She did not however deliver any speech. (Alex).