MEMR: Batang Toru hydropower plant has not yet secured forest area permit
Thursday, December 4 2025 - 07:50 AM WIB
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has confirmed that the Batang Toru Hydropower Plant (PLTA) in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, has not yet obtained a forest area borrow-to-use permit (IPPKH).
“The Batang Toru Hydropower Plant is required to carry out reforestation of 120 percent, but the IPPKH has not been issued,” said Eniya Listiani Dewi, Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) at the ESDM Ministry, on Wednesday (Dec. 3), as quoted by Antara.
Eniya said the reasons behind the delayed issuance fall under the authority of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK).
Her clarification came in response to a report by the Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM), which argued that the Batang Toru PLTA and the Sipansihaporas PLTA have contributed to changes in watershed conditions and exacerbated recent flash floods in North Sumatra.
JATAM stated that both hydropower plants draw water from one of the Batang Toru Ecosystem’s main watersheds—an ecologically critical area now occupied by dams, diversion tunnels, and supporting infrastructure.
Eniya stressed that the operation of hydropower plants must be supported by healthy ecosystems and reforestation in upstream areas to protect water discharge and flow stability.
“So, it is not entirely accurate to say that the hydropower plant is the cause of flooding,” she said.
Read also : Batang Toru hydropower plant to begin operations by end of 2025
The Batang Toru Hydropower Plant project is scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2025 and supply electricity to Sumatra’s interconnection grid. The plant, managed by PT North Sumatera Hydro Energy (NSHE), has an installed capacity of 510 megawatts (MW), with the initial phase to begin with one 127.5 MW turbine.
The project’s EPC contractor is Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China. Construction began in late 2017 and was initially expected to be completed in 2021. PT PLN Nusantara Power owns a 25 percent interest in the plant, with other shareholders including PT Dharma Hydro Nusantara (52.82 percent) and Singapore-based Fareast Green Energy Pte Ltd (22.18 percent).
Separately, Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq acknowledged that changes in landforms have occurred in flood-affected areas in Sumatra, including within the operational zones of hydropower plants and gold mining activities.
In response to the widespread disaster, the ministry will involve universities in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra in assessing environmental carrying capacity in areas impacted by flooding and corporate operations.
As of early Wednesday (Dec. 3), the National Disaster Management Agency’s (BNPB) Data and Information Center reported 753 deaths, 650 missing persons, and 2,600 injured as a result of floods and landslides across Sumatra. Severe infrastructure damage has also hindered the delivery of aid to several affected locations.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak