PLN to be given authority in land acquisition

The government is quietly revising Presidential Regulation No 71/2012 on land acquisition for public infrastructure projects to provide authority for state-owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to directly conduct land acquisition for power projects, Kontan reported on Monday.

The paper quoted Director General of Electricity Jarman as saying that PLN would have greater power in land acquisition for electricity projects as it represents the government.

Jarman said that the move is part of efforts to accelerate the development of power plant projects in the country to help avoid imminent power crisis. Power development projects have often been stalled by difficulties in land acquisition such as what have been suffered by the 2x1,000 MW Batang power plant project in Central Java, and the 2x200 MW power plant project in Pangkalan Susu, Langkat, North Sumatra.

The paper said that the country is facing the risk of electricity crisis in 2018 if power plant projects continue to stall. The crisis may come sooner in 2016 if the development of the Batang coal-fired power plant project continues to be hampered by land acquisition problem. (*)