Three foreign investors to finance Muria nuclear power plant

Three foreign investors have expressed their keen interest to jointly finance the construction of Rp 35 trillion nuclear power plant which would be built in Muria, Jepara regency, Central Java, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday.

Soedyartomo Soentono, the head of the national atomic power agency (Batan), said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the three investors came, respectively, from Japan, South Korea and France had expressed their readiness to finance the project. But he did not unveil their names.

He said that the mega power project which would occupy a 25 hectares of land in Muria district, Jepara regecy, Central Java was scheduled for commencement in 2010. "The nuclear power plant, with a capacity of 4 x 1000 MW, is expected to begin commercial operation in 2015," he added.

According to him, the nuclear power plant which is expected to provide about four percent of the country's total power supply, which is estimated to reach about 100 gigawatt by 2025.

The government issued a presidential decree in January, this year to allow the construction of the nuclear power plant. "So, we are now waiting for a final approval from the President," he said. (*)