Toba Bara seeks to acquire coal mines

By Romel S. Gurky

Petromindo|Khalsa

IDX-listed coal firm PT Toba Bara Sejahtra Tbk said it was seeking to acquire new coal mines in East Kalimantan Province, where it has already operated three coal subsidiaries, to support its power plant projects as the company moves to transform into an integrated energy firm.

The company said in a presentation materials Wednesday that it was looking at assets located near its exiting coal mines in the province. ?The coal mine acquisition is to support the company?s power plant projects,? Toba Bara said, but did not provide further details.

Toba Bara earlier said that it expected financial close for its 2x50 MW PLTU Sulut-3 coal-fired power plant project in Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi Province, to be concluded next year.

Taba Bara?s indirect subsidiary PT Minahasa Cahaya Lestari, which is 90 percent owned by PT Toba Bara Energi and 10 percent by Sinohydro Corp Ltd, signed the power purchase agreement (PPA) for the project with state-owned electricity firm PT PLN in April of this year.

Construction process, which will start once the financial close has been reached, will take about 39 months to complete. The power plant will get coal supply from Toba Bara at a volume of 600,000-650,000 tons per year, with CV of 3,800-4,400 kcal/kg.

Toba Bara?s subsidiary PT Gorontalo Listrik Perdana (GLP) is also developing a 2x50 MW PLTU Sulbagut 1 coal-fired power plant project in Gorontalo Province. The power plant will require around 600,000-650,000 tons of coal with CV of 3,800-4,400 kcal/kg to be supplied by GLP parent, Toba Bara Sejahtra.

GLP, which is 60 percent owned by Toba Bara Sejahtra, 20 percent by Shanghai Electric Power Construction Co Ltd, and 20 percent by PT Toba Sejahtra, has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with state-owned electricity firm PT PLN for the project, which is targeted to be completed in 2019/2020.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak