PTBA seeking foreign partners

The state-owned coal mining company PT Bukit Asam (PTBA) is seeking foreign partners in developing a coal-fired power plant in South Sumatra that will need an investment of US$2.25 billion.

?We?re in negotiations with the potential foreign partners. Hopefully, we can finalize it later this month (December),? PTBA President Director Milawarma was quoted by the Jakarta Globe as saying in Jakarta on Friday.

He said that the power plant development will be 70 percent financed by loans and the other 30 percent by the sale of equity in the planned joint venture with the foreign partners.

Previously, in September PTBA announced that it had established a joint-venture company called Huadian Bukit Asam Power to build two 620-megawatt coal-fired power plants in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra.

Once in operation, the power plant, which will take 36 months to construct, will need coal supply at around 8 million to 10 million metric tons per year.

PTBA has a 45 percent stake in the joint venture and will supply the power plant with 5.4 million to 6 million tons of coal per year for 25 years.

PTBA, through its subsidiary Bukit Pembangkit Innovative, is also developing a coal-fired power plant with two 110 MW generators in Banjarsari, about 200 kilometers from Palembang.

PTBA will start supplying the Banjarsari power plant with about 1.5 million metric tons of coal per year when it will start commercial operation in 2014.

Milawarma said that the company had also planned to increase coal production by acquiring concessions on small mines that produce low-calorie coal next year. But he refused to give further details on the planned acquisitions.

For 2013, PTBA has allocated a capital expenditure of between Rp 1.5 trillion and Rp 2 trillion ($155 million and $207 million), which is higher than this year?s Rp 1.4 trillion. (*)