PTBA and Antam sign agreements to cooperate with GE

By Hiski Darmayana

State owned coal miner PT Bukit Asam Tbk and state owned general miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, both listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange, have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with American technology giant General Electric allowing the latter to help both state owned firms develop their businesses.

?We shall provide solutions in the aspects of energy and technology for both companies with the purpose of improving their cost efficiency,? Made Wahyu Wiratama, GE Indonesia?s Strategic Power Director for Power and Water, told the press after the signing of the MoUs on Tuesday in Jakarta.

PTBA?s President Director Milawarma said under the MoU, General Electric is expected to help PTBA in developing five sectors, namely transportation, power plant, gas bed methane (CBM) and coal gasification and human resources.

?There are no specifics yet. We shall hold further talks to determine in which of the five sectors we shall cooperate. We hope to formulate the details of the cooperation within one year,? Milawarma told reporters.

PTBA noted in its press release that the firm through the consortium of PT Bukit Asam Transpacific Railway is preparing to build a new railway connecting its mine in Tanjung Enim in South Sumatra to the seaport in Lampung. Also, the firm has planned to develop a coal gasification project and is developing CBM project. GE is also expected to provide high performance, highly efficient power plant technology for PTBA?s power plant projects using low calorie coal.

Meanwhile, Antam?s President Director Tato Miraza said the firm is interested to cooperate with GE in developing its alumina smelter project in Tayan, West Kalimantan.

?We already have nickel smelters in Pomalaa (in Central Sulawesi) and don?t have any alumina smelter yet. We just started to build an alumina smelter. We hope GE can help us in this project,? Tato said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon