PLN seeks to complete stalled power plant projects this year

State-owned electricity company PT PLN aims to complete construction of 10-15 stalled power plant projects this year, according to company President Director Sofyan Basir.

Sofyan was quoted by reports as saying Friday that the issuance of Presidential Regulation No 4/2016, which among others allows PLN to raise new debts and speed up land acquisition process, will help the company in completing the projects.

He explained that there are currently 34 stalled power plant projects, which were proposed under the so-called fast track program (FTP) 1 and 2 of the previous government. Most of these plant projects are located in remote areas with capacity ranging from 7-20 MW.

Koran Tempo said that two of the stalled power plant projects are the 2x8 MW Asahan hydro power plant in North Sumatra, whose construction has been hampered by difficulties in land acquisition process, and the 2x7 MW Tembilahan coal-fired power plant in Riau, which has been hampered by condition of the local area thus requiring change in design.(*)