PLN to build hydropower plant in Wamena

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 08/17/2011

State electricity firm PT PLN has disclosed a plan to build a 50 megawatt hydropower plant (PLTA) in Wamena, Papua.

“Wamena is an ideal location for a PLTA. The city of Wamena is very big. On that basis, PLN will build PLTA Baliem 2,” PLN managing director Dahlan Iskan said on Tuesday evening as quoted by kompas.com.

Dahlan said the construction would start next year and was expected to be completed in five or six years.

He added that the project would cost Rp 3 trillion (US$351 million) in total, and that PLN would first use internal funds to finance the project before seeking third-party support.

Dahlan said PLN was planning to build another hydropower plant with the same capacity in Wamena after the completion of the first project.