PLN to spend Rp 3.7t to upgrade Jakarta power network

State electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) will spend up to Rp 3.7 trillion (1US$ = Rp 9,020) to improve transmission and distribution in the capital this year, The Jakarta Post reported on Wednesday

?The project is called the 500KV project. We will construct a network system among substations in Jakarta, including a 150 KV cable underground line in the city and four high voltage substations,? Ngurah Adnyana, the Java and Bali operational director, told. reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The four substations will be built in North Jakarta in Muara Karang, in Plumpang, in Duri Kosambi and in Tanjung Priok.

PLN transmission and load dispatch general manager Zainal Abdidin Sihite said this year PLN had allocated Rp 3.7 trillion for the financing of projects. ?The funds will be from internal sources;? he said.

Zainal said, starting this year the company would construct a network system connecting Duri Kosambi to Kembangan. ?This project has been approved by the government. The required analyses on the impact of the project on the environment have also been approved, as well as its project design. Now, we are still seeking the contractor for this project,? Zainal said.

He revealed that PLN had also tendered Duri Kosambi substation which would have two interbase transformators. ?We are also still seeking contractors to build the other three substations,? he said.

He hoped that the project to improve the power distribution networks in the capital could be completed by 2015. (*)