PW Power Systems mulls assembly facilities in Indonesia

PW Power Systems Inc. (PWPS), formerly Pratt & Whitney Power Systems, is exploring the possibility of setting up an assembly and maintenance facility in Indonesia with an expected investment worth around US$10 million annually, The Jakarta Post reported Monday.

The paper said that the plan was conveyed on Friday when visiting Vice President Jusuf Kalla met the company?s president, Peter C. Christman, in New York.

According to Kalla, the planned facility would supports gas-fired power plants, which the government expects to account for 25 percent of the country?s power generation.

?Their planned investment would closely link to PLN [the state elec-tricity firm]. That?s why further talks with PLN wilibe needed,? said Kalla.

PWPS, now a subsidiary of Japan?s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., has leveraged the advanced technology of Pratt & Whitney air-craft engines and applied it to com-plex power system solutions.

The company has a vast array of product lines and services, including industrial gas turbine engines, after-market services and repairs.

Businessman and executive of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Jacobus Dwihartanto, who also attended the meeting between Kalla and Christman, said that the discussion was a follow up to the previous rounds of talks, and that PWPS had conveyed its seriousness about investing.

?They?re now still in the process of selecting the location for their facility Either in Batam [Riau Islands] or in Jakarta,? said Jacobus, also the president of power infrastructure company PT Elektrindo Utama Indonesia.

?Their size of investment will be around $10 million annually,? he said.(*)