PTBA hopes to complete FS for $2.2b power plant project soon
Tuesday, November 10 2015 - 01:14 AM WIB
IDX-listed coal mining firm PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) expects its planned coal-fired power plant project in Riau in cooperation with state-owned utility PT PLN and Malaysia?s utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad to obtain approval from the government of the two countries this year.
PTBA President Director Milawarma said on Monday that the power plant project, with planned capacity of between 800-1,200 MW, is currently in the feasibility study (FS) stage, a process that is expected to be completed this year.
He explained that if the approval from the Indonesian and Malaysian governments for transmission integration can be obtained next year, it would take between 6-12 months to raise the necessary funding for the estimated US$1.8 billion-$2.2 billion project.
?If it (the project) can be approved in 2015, the funding process can be made in 2016, it means construction can start in 2017,? Milawarma said, but stopped short of disclosing when the project would be completed.
The planned project is designed to take advantage of differences in peak-hour of electricity consumption between the two countries, where the peak-hour in Indonesia occurs at night, while in Malaysia at day time.
Milawarma said that the company has yet to decide how much power volume will be exported to Malaysia, only saying it could account for up to half of total capacity.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak