Germany disburses Rp 90b for geothermal project in Aceh

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/18/2011

German development bank KfW has disbursed a total of Rp 90 billion or 7.72 million euros (US$9.9 million) in grants to Indonesia to finance geothermal exploration activities in Aceh.

Indonesia’s Finance Ministry debt management director general Rahmat Waluyanto said Tuesday the activities were part of the government’s target to develop geothermal power plants with a total capacity of 12,000 megawatts across the country.

“Indonesia needs 18.7 million euros to construct a geothermal power plant in the area [Aceh],” Rahmat said.

He added that the Aceh administration would allocate Rp 2.5 billion for the same project, and that the remaining funds needed were expected to be covered by a company's winning bid on the project.

Rahmat said the project was also part of Indonesia and Germany’s partnership in tackling climate change.