Wijaya Karya to build mini hydropower plant

State owned construction and engineering company PT Wijaya Karya plans to build and operate a mini hydropower plant with a capacity of 25 megawatt in Lampung, Kontan reported on Wednesday.

The company?s corporate secretary Natal Agrawan said in Jakarta on Tuesday that Wijaya Karya would spend up to US$37.5 million for the construction of the hydropower plant which was expected to begin in 2013.

Natal said that the company would act as an independent power producer which would sell the electricity to state owned electricity company PLN.

?Investing in a hydropower plant is much more profitable due to its lower risks,? he said.

Investment requirement for the development of a mini hydropower plant will be about $1.5 million per megawatt, almost the same with other forms of power plants such as a coal-fired power plant.

Natal said that about 30 percent of the investment requirements would come from internal source and the other 70 percent from bank loans. As the construction of the power plant will take about one year to complete, the power plant is expected to begin commercial operation in 2014, he added. (*)