Tri Bayu awaits license for its mine-mouth power plant

PT Tri Bayu Buana Energindo is waiting for the government's license to commence the construction of its 1,200MW mine-mouth power plant which will be built in South Sumatra, one of the country's major coal producers, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Monday.

The company's president director Teddy Setiawan said in Jakarta on Saturday that the construction of the power plant would be commenced as soon as the government issued the permit for the power project.

He said that if the government issued the license this year, the planned power plant which would absorb an initial investment of about US$1.3 billion could begin commercial operation in 2009.

According to Teddy, the construction of the power plant which would be built in PT Triaryani's coal mine site in Musi Rawas regency, would also involve several foreign companies from Japan, including Sumizu, Kobe Steel Co, Babcock Hitachi, Nippon Koei and Japan Power.

He said that the power plant proposes to sell its power to state electricity company PLN at about US$0.045, the lowest so far offered by independent power producers. (*)