Work on $41m Bukit Asam Power Plant to Start in April

The Jakarta Globe, March 7, 2009 

PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, holder of a quarter of Indonesia’s coal reserves, will start building a $41 million power plant at its concession in South Sumatra Province next month. 

The coal-fired power plant, with a capacity of 30 megawatts, will be completed in April 2011, Milawarma, operational director at Bukit Asam, said on Friday. The company will use internal cash to fund the project, he said. 

Bukit Asam is seeking cheaper electricity after benchmark coal prices in Asia dropped 66 percent from a record $194.79 a metric ton in July. The company may save as much as $3.3 million a year with the new plant, compared with the charges it’s currently paying the state utility, Milawarma said. 

Bloomberg