Nine independent power plants to be built in Kalimantan

At least nine independent power plants, with a total capacity of about 600 megawatt (MW), will be built in Kalimantan by 2020 to cope with the acute power shortage in the island, Kompas reported Friday.

The coal-fired Wajok Hilir power plant with a capacity of 2x25 MW became the first private power plant on the island when its operator PT Equator Manunggal Power launched construction works on Thursday.

Located in Sintan district, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, the power plant is expected to begin commercial operation by the end of 2009. PT Equator will spend up to Rp 600 billion for the power project.

Speaking during the ground breaking ceremony of the power plant, state-owned electricity company PLN's President Director Eddie Widiono said that that the company was currently installing a high-voltage power grid linking East, West, South and Central Kalimantan to anticipate the increase in the power supply in the island.

He said that the power interconnection network was expected to be able to fully operate by the end of 2015. Eddie, however, did not say the construction schedules and locations of the other eight power projects.

The independent power plants are expected to provide additional power supply of about 30,000 megawatt by the end of 2020. All the power plants will not use oil as fuel, he added. (*)