PLN gets $90m from Exim Bank of China

State electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has received $90 million from Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China, PLN?s President Director said on Tuesday.

PLN received the sum last week under a $3 billion loan agreement with Chinese banks including Export-Import Bank of China, Fahmi Mochtar told reporters in Jakarta

He said the funds will be used to finance the development of a new 660 MW unit generation unit in the Paiton power complex in East Java and another 625 MW unit in the Suralaya power plant complex in Banten.

He said of the $3 billion loan commitment, the Chinese banks have thus far disbursed $1.5 billion and are still withholding the rest, citing the failure of Indonesian state owned airlines Merpati to meet its commitment to buy aircraft from China's Xi'an Aicraft. The banks also demand higher interest rate, citing the global economic crisis.

Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said Monday that the Merpati contract problem could delay the state power firm?s 10,000 MW crash program, which largely depends on finance from Chinese banks.

Purnomo told House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VII that the banks - the Bank of China, the China Development Bank and the China Export Import Bank - wanted the Indonesian government to help settle the Merpati-Xi'an dispute before releasing all disbursements of loans agreed with PLN.

In 2006, Merpati signed a contract with Xi?an for the purchase of 15 Xinzhou-60 aircraft at $15 million each, using a soft-loan scheme from the China Export Import Bank. (*)