RNI and Bronzeoak to invest $40 million to build bioethanol plant

PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) and the British company Bronzeoak Ltd. will jointly build a bioethanol plant and a 20 megawatt cogeneration power plant in Indramayu, West Java, Bisnis Indonesia reported Wednesday.

The bioethanol plant will have an annual production capacity of 3 million liters. The two plants need an investment of US$40 million.

The RNI?s director of business development Son Ramadir and Bronzeoak Ltd.?s managing director Graham Stowell signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard in Jakarta on Wednesday. British Ambassador to Indonesia Charles Humphrey witnessed the signing of the MoU.

Ramadir said under the MoU, both companies agreed to conduct a feasible study for the building of bioethanol plant.

? The bioethanol plant, which we will build, is a fuel grade, not industrial grade like the one we have in East Java. With this plant, we can use bioethanol fuel for transportation,? Ramadir said.

Bronzeoak has built several power plants that use biofuels in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

In Indonesia, the British company has built power plants in Lampung (3MW and 3X2.4 MW), North Sumatra (13.4 MW) and Riau (10.5 MW).(*)