Pertamina to take over Wayang Windu geothermal power plant
Saturday, April 26 2003 - 03:02 AM WIB
General Manager for Geothermal Operation of Pertamina Sukusen Soemarinda said that the $57.5 million would be only part for the payment of the geothermal power plan which is totally worth about $250 million.
Pertamina would issue bonds and secure a bridging fund from a bank to finance the remainders, Sukusen said, adding that the state owned oil and gas company had proposed Deutsche Bank and other banks to provide the bridging funds. "We are still waiting for the most favorable offer from the banks," he added.
Magma which develops the geothermal power plant under a joint operation contract with Pertamina is 50-percent owned by Unocal Corporation and a consortium of banks comprising of Deutsche Bank and Credit Swiss First Boston, with 25 percent share ownership each.
The development of the geothermal power plant which has a capacity of 2 x 110 MW was started in 1997 with total investment of about $250 million. The project was temporarily halted in 1998 due to the country?s worst ever crisis.
Under the Kyoto Protocol signed in 1997, pollution-free power plants such as the Wayang Windu power plant is qualified to receive the so called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) grant. The grant is given as part of the international programs to reduce carbon emission in the world.
If the plant receives the grant, the price of the electricity that would be sold to state electricity company PLN could be reduced to 4.3 US cent, Sukusen said. (*)