Three foreign firms compete for Tanjung Kasem power plant

Three companies from Japan and China have been short listed to join the final selection to win a contract worth about US$100 million to build a 110-megawatt power plant in the Batam industrial bonded zone, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday.

A source at the Batam Industrial Development Authority (BIDA) said that the three companies were selected from five companies taking part in the pre-qualification for the bidding of the coal-fired power plant, which would be located at the Tanjung Kasem village.

The power plant which is expected to start its commercial operation in 2007 will be operated by BIDA in cooperation with PT PLN Batam, a subsidiary of the state owned electricity company PLN.

"We hope the winner of the project can be announced within the next two months so that the construction works could be started next year," said Eri Efriyandri, the operational director of PT PLN Batam.

The coal-fired power plant will consume at least 25,000 tons of coal a month or about 300,000 tons a year. (*)