PLN starts hydropower plant project in Aceh

State-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is currently building a hydropower plant in Paseungan district in Central Aceh to meet the power supply shortage in Aceh province.

PLN?s spokesman Bambang Dwiyanto said in Jakarta on Thursday that the company would need about Rp 3.1 trillion (US$1 = Rp 8,500) to finance the construction of the power plant which would have a capacity of 2 x 44 megawatt.

To finance the project, the electricity company would receive loans from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Bambang said. But he refused to go into detail about the amount of loans to be provided by the Japanese bank.

He said that the project works would be divided into several stages such as civil works, metal, turbines, generator and transmission. ?Each stage of works will be carried out by different contractors, depending on the winner of the tender,? he said.

For civil works, the winner of the tender is a consortium between Hyundai of South Korea and PT Pembangunan Perumahan, he said. ?Other works have not been tendered, but we hope all the works could be completed in five years,? he added.

At present, Aceh?s power demand reaches 298 megawatt during peak hours, half of the supply is provided by power plants in North Sumatra. (*)