PLN to re-tender Muara Tawar add-on project in July

State electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) plans to re-tender the contract to construct the Block 2 add-on project at the Muara Tawar power plant complex in Bekasi, West Java in July this year.

PLN invited bidders to develop the Muara Tawar combined cycle power plant's Block 2, 3 and 4 add-on projects, with combined capacity of 1,200 MW in September last year. The firm has decided to retender the projects because only one participant took part in the tender.

PLN?s planning and technology director Nasri Sebayang said on Monday that in the retendering of the projects, PLN will only offer one block, rather than three as initially planned, due to limited gas supply from state-gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara and state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.

?The Block 2 consist of a 140-MW open-cycle power unit and a 250-MW combined-cycle power unit,? he said.

Currently, gas supply from PGN and Pertamina amounts to only about 100 MMSCFD and 30 MMSCFD, respectively. Meanwhile, the three add-on blocks will need around 390 MMSCFD.

Nasri said in February this year, that the project would not be financed with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) loans as originally planned. "It will be the tender winner who will provide the funding." (bernard)