Pertamina delays its plan to purchase Wayang Windu plant
Tuesday, December 16 2003 - 03:19 AM WIB
Pertamina has asked for the legal opinion on the take over plan whether it will violate the company?s rules, particularly article 3 which states that it can handle only its own geothermal project or it can purchase a new plant which is almost finished, company?s finance director Alfred H. Rohimone said in Jakarta.
?The question is whether the purchase of Wayang Windu project is in line with that article (3) or not. Because Pertamina?s business must comply with the company regulations,? Alfred told Koran Tempo recently.
He said that Pertamina?s board of directors had already asked the office of the state minister for state enterprises for the legal opinion about purchase plan.
?Until today, we?re still waiting,? Alfred said.
In October, Pertamina?s president director Ariffi Nawawi said his company would review its plan to take over Wayang Windu project
The company?s move goes in line with its determination to focus on its core businesses, Ariffi said at that time.
Pertamina had planned to buy the Wayang Windu project for US$250 million, which would be derived from the bonds the company planned to issue this year. The bonds were planned to be worth $500 million.
Developer Magma Nusantara currently owns the Wayang Windu plant, which is located in West Java?s Pengalengan district. Magma is a joint venture of U.S. oil and gas firm Unocal Corporation and a consortium of two banks namely Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston.
Construction of the power project, planned to have capacity to generate 2x110 megawatts of electricity, started in 1997. It was halted in 1998 due to financial crisis. (*)