Paiton's transmission project delayed for eight months

The 211-kilometer high voltage, and super-high voltage 500 kilovolt electricity transmission projects from Paiton to Kediri in East Java, financed by the World Bank loan, has been delayed for eight months following a law suit from the Krisna Alam business group.

The chief of operation staff at state electricity firm PLN's East Java and Nusa Tenggara central power producing and distribution project, Agus Subiyanto, said the Paiton-Kediri transmission project, worth US$56.379 million and Rp 52.57 billion, according to its schedule, should have been completed by last October.

"Because of the legal suit from the Krisna Alam Group, the project could not be completed on time," Agus said, adding that the legal suit from Krisna Alam was not the sole cause for the delay. The delay was also precipitated by another legal suit against PLN, from people in Gempol, where the transmission lines passes.

But the suit from Krisna Alam was the most dominant one, Agus said.

Krisna filed a law suit against PLN at the Surabaya District Court, arguing that PLN's transmission line (the Paiton-Kediri line) which passes its property had caused the value of its property to drop. Krisna Alam demanded PLN to pay it Rp 19 billion in compensation.

And the Surabaya District Court, in its verdict issued last Thursday, ordered PLN to pay Krisna Rp 11.6 billion in compensation.

Agus said PLN had filed an appeal of the district court's verdict. (*)