Cempaka Projects

Army high officials depart to Netherlands to view Leopard tanks

2012-01-30T21:49:00.001+07:00

DickyChristanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/30/2012

Armyspokesman Brig. Gen. Wiryantoro said a team of Army generals led by deputy Armychief of staff Lt. Gen. Budiman had departed to the Netherlands to take acloser look at Leopard tanks that the Army was interested in purchasing.

“The teamis tasked with making an assessment over many aspects, one of them being totake closer look at the tanks’ real condition,” Wiryantoro told The JakartaPost on Monday.

He said theresults of the visit will be given to the public once the team returned.

The Armyhas allocated US$280 million to purchase 100 used Leopard tanks from theNetherlands this year. However, the idea has drawn controversy, with somepeople criticizing the tanks as being too big and thus not appropriate for thecountry’s geography.

PLN identifies 96 potential locations for hydro-power plants

2012-01-25T15:47:00.002+07:00

Rangga D.Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 01/25/2012

State powercompany PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) said on Wednesday that it hadidentified 96 locations across the country suitable for hydro-power plants witha total capacity of 12,800 megawatts (MW).

Around 60percent of the locations would be developed by PLN, while the remaining 40percent would be offered to independent power producers (IPP), PLN presidentdirector Nur Pamudji revealed at his office in Jakarta.

“However,we still face several problems due to poor management of the concession areas.Regional administrations, in some cases, issue permits to private companies [todevelop areas which have been determined as hydro-power plant locations],” heexplained.

Accordingto the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s data, Indonesia has a potentialtotal of 75,670 megawatts (MW) of hydro energy, with only 5,705 MW beingutilized.

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U.N. sustainable development summit shifts from climate change

Indonesia, Finland want to cooperates in renewable energy

2012-01-24T17:50:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Tue, January 24 2012

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Jakarta(ANTARA News) - Indonesia and Finland have underscored the importance ofrenewable energy cooperation between the two countries in the framework oftheir Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP), Foreign Affairs Minister MartyNatalegawa said here on Tuesday.

Speaking tothe press after a bilateral meeting with visiting Finnish European Affairs andForeign Trade Minister Alexander Stubb, Marty said they discussed theimportance of the two countries` renewable energy cooperation.

"Besides,Indonesia and Finland also agreed to enhance trade and investment relationsbetween the two countries," Marty said, adding that the two countries hadsigned their EEP accord on February 14, 2011.

Marty saidthe EEP program was intended to reduce green house gas emissions and the impactof climate change by way of providing modern energy that was easily accessibleand reliable in rural areas and usable in the industrial sector.

To make theprogram a success, the Finnish government had extended a 4-million-euro grant tothe Indonesian government to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, andinvestment in clean energy technology.

"Inaddition, Indonesia has also asked for Finland`s support for its Master Planfor the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia`s Economic Development(MP3EI)," Marty said.

Meanwhile,Alexander Stubb said the two countries cooperation in various fields had greatpotential to be improved.

"Thisis so because besides its strong economic development, Indonesia is also amember of G-20," Stubb said.

He addedthat Finland was very much dependent on its trade sector which accounted for 40percent of the country`s gross domestic product (GDP).

"Butthe contribution of our exports (to GDP) is only 0.2 percent and thereforeFinland wants to step up cooperation with Indonesia whose exports accont for 25percent of GDP ," Stubb said.

Accompaniedby a 30-strong business delegation, Stubb had come to Indonesia to step uptrade and investment relations with Indonesia.

Editor: Suryanto

East Java asked to increase renewable energy projects

2012-01-17T21:04:00.000+07:00

Antara News, Tue, January 17 2012

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US strengthens commitment to renewable energy partnership with RI

Surabaya,East Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin)of East Java province has asked to local government to increase the number ofrenewable energy projects.

"EastJava is reach in renewable energy resources among others bio-gas, geothermal,wind energy, water and solar energy," local Kadin deputy chairman forenergy and mineral resources Nelson Sembiring said at Energy Efficiency Weekfor the Area of Surabaya on Tuesday.

Accordingto Sembiring, East Java has wider opportunity to optimize renewable energypotential because the province has abundant sources of energy such asgeothermal in Ijen and Ngebel, bio-gas in Gresik, Pacitan, and South Malang,and hydro energy that has been used for 10 years in Seloliman.

"Fromthe quantity of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency can reach 7.8percent or almost close to East Java energy saving target of 12 to 15 percentin 2025," Sembiring said.

He alsoexpressed optimism that the province could reach the energy saving target if itdeveloped as many as five units of micro-hydro project per year with theinvestment value of Rp30 million per unit.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Cars for high officials to switch from gasoline to gas

2012-01-16T21:39:00.000+07:00

Bagus BTSaragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 01/16/2012

Thegovernment plans to equip all official cars used by President Susilo BambangYudhoyono’s Cabinet members and other high-level state officials with gasconverter kits as part of the oil-to-gas conversion program.

“We haveappointed [state-owned aircraft maker] PT Dirgantara Indonesia to produce thekits. But if the company fails to provide all the demanded kits, we will importmore kits to fill the gap,” Coordinating People’s Welfare Minister AgungLaksono told reporters at the presidential office on Monday.

Agung addedthat the government expected to reach its goal by April.

Theoil-to-gas conversion campaign was launched to support government plans tolimit the amount of subsidized fuel used by private cars in Java and Bali,which will be gradually carried out from April.

Thegovernment hopes the program will allow it to reduce the fuel subsidy.(dic)

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Moratorium Demanded on All DPR Construction Projects

2012-01-16T04:55:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, RizkyAmelia, January 16, 2012

Indonesia Corruption Watch displays a toilet during a press conference on
Sunday to demand a moratorium on construction works in the House of
Representatives, including the planned Rp 2 billion renovation of lavatories
in one of its buildings. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal).

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The falloutfrom a $2.2 million meeting room renovation project at the House ofRepresentatives continued on Sunday as antigraft groups demanded it put downthe hammers and open the books.

TheAnti-Budget Mafia Coalition, which includes Indonesia Corruption Watch, saidthe construction projects taking place at the House of Representatives were notas open and transparent as they should be.

It demandeda moratorium on all construction and renovation work and an audit into theprojects that had already taken place.

ApungWidadi, from the ICW, said with no one watching over the House on theseprojects, corruption was more likely. He said the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK)needed to take a close look at all the construction projects undertaken orplanned for the House.

The groupalso called on the House Secretariat General and the Household AffairsCommittee (BURT) to focus on building a transparent evaluation system for allprojects at the legislature.

“While theBURT and the Secretariat General improve their performance, all projects at theDPR should be temporarily frozen, a moratorium imposed,” Apung said.

Coming onthe heels of criticism over a Rp 2 billion ($220,000) plan to renovate thetoilets at one of the buildings used by lawmakers, the House was found to havespent Rp 20 billion to renovated a relatively small meeting room to be used bythe House Budget Committee. The House has already canceled a plan in the faceof mounting public criticism to build a luxurious 36-story tower to houselawmakers’ offices.

The towerwas originally expected to cost taxpayers Rp 1.8 trillion, but the price wentdown to Rp 700 billion before the plan was scrapped.

Apung saidthe coalition had asked the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) toinvestigate suspicions of graft in some of the House projects.

IndonesiaBudget Center researcher Roy Salam did not mince words in talking about themeeting room project.

“Thisrenovation stinks of corruption,” he said.

The tenderselection, he said, was held twice, with 13 companies originally eligible tocomplete but later only state-owned Pembangunan Perumahan deemed eligible.

A secondtender yielded three companies, including Pembangunan Perumahan, but the twoother firms were dropped due to what were called “incomplete administrativedocuments.”

Roy saidthe all the paperwork should have been checked before the tender, not after.

Apung saidthe leadership of the House was to blame for failing to properly supervise allthe institutions within the House, including the secretariat and the BURT.

He saidthis lack of supervision from the leadership, combined with the lack oftransparency at the secretariat, created an atmosphere where corruption couldthrive.

Roy addedthat the secretariat was obliged to publish tender documents. Failure to do sobreaks several laws, including the Public Information Openness Law, the Law onState Finance and the Law on the State Treasury.

He said hisinstitution would demand that the contract documents for the latest renovationproject be made public.

“This willshow just how much the state lost,” he said.

Apung saidthe Rp 20 billion price tag was too high. “Our estimate is that it should haveonly cost Rp 500 million,” he said.

TaslimChaniago, a member of the House Budget Committee from the National MandateParty (PAN), said on Friday that he was resigning from the committee in protestover the project.

A glimpse of the renovated House of Representatives Budget Committee
meeting room in Jakarta on Wednesday. The renovation cost Rp 20 billion
($2.2 million) and has been criticized as a lavish expenditure. It comes on
the heels of a House plan for new toilet facilities that would have cost taxpayers
Rp 2 billion. (Antara Photo/Yudhi Mahatma)

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Public cars to get free gas converter kits: Govt

2012-01-09T16:47:00.003+07:00

Bagus BTSaragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 01/09/2012

Thegovernment plans to distribute free natural gas converter kits to public transportationvehicles as part of the subsidized fuel limitation program, said CoordinatingEconomic Minister Hatta Rajasa on Monday.

"Wehave not decided the scheme for private cars yet but numerous possibilities ofincentives are on the table. For instance, we can subsidize the loan interest[for those who buy the kits through credit]," Hatta told reporters at thePresidential Office.

State-ownedaircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia is reportedly prepared to producethe kits and supply them to support the conversion program.

Thegovernment has announced the plan to limit the use of subsidized fuel byprivate cars on the islands of Java and Bali, starting in April.

Thegovernment has begun campaigning on the plan this week.

The FinanceMinistry said the government has allocated Rp 900 billion (US$ 99 million) forthe fuel-to-gas conversion program.

Part of thefunds will also be used to support the development of new gas stations.

Hatta saidthat the government would prioritize the construction of new gas stations alongthe route of public transportation.

"Ourtarget is to produce the kits and construct as many gas stations aspossible," he said.

Full Steam Ahead as PLN Targets Geothermal Power

2012-01-06T23:05:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, RirinRadiawati Kusuma, January 06, 2012

An employee walking along a thermal pipe at the Kamojang geothermal
power plant near Garut, West Java, on March 18. State utility provider
Perusahaan Listrik Negara is targeting an additional 135 megawatts of
electricity from three new geothermal plants. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)

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State-ownedpower producer Perusaahan Listrik Negara expects to generate an additional 135megawatts of electricity from its three geothermal power plants that are set togo online this year as part of its plans to boost capacity across the nation.

MuhammadSofyan, director of renewable energy at the state utility provider known asPLN, said on Friday that it expected to operate three new geothermal powerplants this year. They include the 110 megawatt Ulubelu plant in Lampung,Sumatra; a 20 MW plant in Lahendong, North Sulawesi; and a 5 MW plant inManggarai, West Flores.

Sofyan saidthe Ulubelu plant was expected to start operating by October. PertaminaGeothermal Energy will provide steam for the plant at a cost of 4.3 cents perkilowatt hour, he said.

PGE is aunit of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, and it provides steam atother PLN facilities in the country.

TheLahendong plant will similarly work with PGE, Sofyan said, and it should beginoperating in February.

Sofyan saidthe Ulumbu plant would also become operational in February. PLN, he said, wouldprovide the steam for the Ulumbu geothermal plant.

PLN isresponsible for improving access to electricity and reducing power outages thatare common in many parts of Indonesia.

Thecountry’s electrification rate, which indicates what percentage of householdshave access to power, is forecast to increase to 75 percent this year from 71percent last year, PLN said.

PLN isworking to provide 20 MW of power from renewable energy sources on remoteislands such as Mentawai, Riau and Bangka-Belitung.

Indonesiais an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, and many volcanoes stretchacross major islands such as Sumatra and Java along a range that makes itdesirable to tap these geothermal sources for the production of electricity.

Renewableenergy also includes production of electricity from water, wind and solar.

Indonesia,a nation of 240 million people, had power-generation capacity at as much as28,462 MW as of the end of last year, according to PLN data.

Coal-poweredplants account for around 42.2 percent of that capacity, with diesel-firedplants 23.7 percent, gas 22 percent, hydropower plants 6.7 percent andgeothermal and other renewable energy at 5.4 percent.

PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the Energy Ministry to boost the country’selectricity capacity by implementing a 20,000 MW fast-track program. Theprogram aims to boost the nation’s electrification rate to 80.24 percent by2014.

Late lastmonth, Yudhoyono inaugurated three coal-fired plants and broke ground on theupgrade of an oil refinery, facilities that are intended to help the countrycope with rapidly rising demand for fuel and electricity.

Yudhoyonolaunched three power plants, two in Banten province and one in Central Java,via teleconference. The three plants have a total production capacity of 1,600MW and are expected to consume 6.5 million tons of coal annually.

Lawmakers Now Interested in Student-Made Car

2012-01-04T15:45:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, AnitaRachman & Antara, January 04, 2012

The Solo mayor’s Kiat Esemka brand sport utility vehicle, which is priced
at Rp 95 million ($10,500), was built by students at SMK (vocational school)
2 Solo and assembled using almost all locally produced components. (JG Photo)

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Somelawmakers, who last year were criticized for ostentatious lifestyles and flashycars, have expressed interest in following the Solo mayor’s example and drivinga locally made car.

Solo MayorJoko Widodo, or Jokowi as he is better known, is now using a car assembled bySMK 2 Solo students along with Kiat Motor, while his deputy, F.X. HadiRudyatmo, is using a car assembled by the students of SMK Warga Solo, also incooperation with Kiat Motor.

The1.5-liter engine Sport Utility Vehicles cost about Rp 95 million (Rp 10,500)each.

OnWednesday, House Speaker Marzuki Alie said that he wanted to see and try outthe car branded “Kiat Esemka” — a reference to how SMK (vocational high school)is pronounced, and Kiat Motor, one of the biggest car repair shops anddealerships in Solo.

“I willvisit it,” Marzuki said. “We should support its production so we could have anIndonesian built car.”

Askedwhether he would buy the car, Marzuki said: “If I have enough money, I’ll buyit.”

A number oflawmakers are reportedly planning to order the car.

A lawmakerfrom the United Development Party, Arwani Thomafi, said he really wantedone.

“I’m notonly interested, but desperate to see and try the car made by our people,”Arwani said. “Who else should buy it but us?”

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Indonesian Garbage Project Helps to Save the Climate

2012-01-01T17:50:00.002+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Christiane Oelrich, January 01, 2012

A man perches on a makeshift raft on a river covered with trash as he
searches for materials to recycle, north of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta
in this file photo. Residents in Tangerang are taking trash collection into
their own hands. (Reuters Photo/Supri)

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Tangerang.Crouched and concentrated, August and Karma rip open knotted plastic bags atthe foot of a big pile of rubbish.

Yoghurtcups, paper packaging, plastic, pineapple rinds, cabbage leaves, chicken bonesand the like fall out. The young Indonesian men begin sorting. Organic materialgoes to one side, and bottles, plastic and paper to the other.

“A superjob,” remarks Karma, 23. “Finally, reliable work.” The two sort their rubbishand that of their neighbors, too. For the past year, the 325 families in GriyaSerpong — a working class housing area of Tangerang, a city some 40 kilometerssouth-west of Jakarta — have been disposing of their garbage themselves.

Municipalgarbage collection was never reliable, and the residents used to dump theirrefuse in a vacant field — a paradise for rats, flies, mosquitoes and snakes.

Everythingis different now. The roofed garbage sorting facility is a source of localpride.

“It’s got alot cleaner here,” notes Ulil Albab, the project’s honorary chairman.

“Nobodywanted to have anything to do with rubbish before. Now we bring school kidshere and show them how to compost,” Karma says.

Residentsbuilt the facility with the help of BEST, a local non-governmental organizationfocusing on urban poverty and community development, and BORDA (Bremen OverseasResearch and Development Association), a German non-profit organization thataims to improve the living conditions of disadvantaged communities and to keepthe environment intact.

At amonthly cost per family of 12,000 Indonesian rupiahs, or a little over 1dollar, August and Karma sweep through the alleyways of Griya Serpong withtheir moped and trailer every day collecting garbage — 400 kilograms of it.

Theycompost all organic refuse at the sorting facility. It is then sold along withthe plastic, glass and paper.

Agathe, 35,has made a business out of rubbish. She collects discarded detergent and noodlebags. She and her girlfriends fashion colorful handbags and wallets from them.

Wheneverything of value has been separated out of the housing area’s refuse, nomore than 30 percent remains. It is taken to a tip.

BESTDirector Hamzah Harun Al Rasyid is pleased. “It’s a win-win situation,” hesays. “The housing area is cleaner, there are new jobs, and there isconsiderably less rubbish, so we’re reducing methane emissions from the garbagetips.”

Karma andAugust constantly turn over the compost pile, which aerates it. This helpsprevent the formation of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that makes garbagetips a big contributor to global warming.

AsIndonesia’s population grows rapidly, so do the piles of garbage that areproduced by the country’s more than 240 million inhabitants.

Whilerecycling is a booming industry — for example in Germany, where it generatessome 67 billion dollars in revenues annually — almost all of the Indonesiangarbage is incinerated or dumped in open tips.

About 1.8million tons of garbage is likely to be produced daily worldwide by 2025,according to BORDA. In Indonesia, 62 percent of the refuse is organic and couldbe composted. But there is no large-scale sorting of refuse.

Facilitieslike the one in Griya Serpong are catching on. The twenty-first one is to beinaugurated in the near future, and many other communities are clamoring fortheir own.

“Weestimate that each facility like this reduces methane by 132 tons a year,” saidJati Kusumowati, who works at the BORDA office in the city of Yogyakarta. “Wethink they ought to be promoted internationally as well.” One way to do thismight be via the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) set out in the KyotoProtocol on climate change, which allows industrialized countries to meet theiremission--reduction or limitation commitments in part by paying for emissioncuts in developing countries.

A one-tonreduction in methane would earn about 13 to 16 dollars, according toKusumowati.

But smallprojects such as the one in Griya Serpong would not clear the technical andbureaucratic hurdles necessary for them to be officially recognized. BORDA isnow trying to get the requirements for small projects loosened.

DPA

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Pertamina Kicks Off $1.4b Refinery Upgrade

2011-12-29T22:18:00.002+07:00

Jakarta Globe, December 29, 2011

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at podium, inaugurated a
$1.4 billion upgrade project at a Pertamina oil refinery in Cilacap, West
Java, on Wednesday. (Antara Photo)

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Pertamina,the state-controlled Indonesian oil and gas company, has begun a $1.4 billionproject to upgrade an oil refinery in Cilacap, Central Java, with PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugurating the project’s groundbreaking onWednesday.

The companyis upgrading its refinery into a residual fluid catalytic cracking plant thatcan convert crude oil and its residual components into higher-value productssuch as gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas and propylene.

Therefinery, which can currently process 348,000 barrels of crude oil per day,will be able to process an extra 62,000 barrels a day after the upgrade.

“Refineriesare an important chain of Pertamina’s downstream sector business,” KarenAgustiawan, Pertamina’s president director, said in a speech. She added thatthe refinery’s “commercial operation is expected [to begin] by the end of2014.”

“More thanthat,” she said, “Pertamina’s refineries play a vital role in the nation’senergy security.”

Pertaminahas six refineries with a total processing capacity of one million barrels perday, and the company produces 41 million kiloliters of gasoline per year.

However,the nation’s fuel consumption has reached 56 million kiloliters of gasoline peryear and is expected to increase at an annual average rate of 4 percent.Indonesia must import oil products to fill in the production gap.

The Cilacaprefinery produces 3.8 million kiloliters of gasoline every year. The upgradewill boost the refinery’s annual production by 1.9 million kiloliters.

Stateconstruction firm Adhi Karya and Goldstar of South Korea won an engineeringprocurement contract worth $931 million to lead the refinery upgrade project.

Indonesia’s PLN to Operate 3 New Coal-Fired Plants

2011-12-28T23:04:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, December 28, 2011

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Indonesianstate utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara will operate three new coal-fired powerplants in Banten, the company said on Wednesday.

PLN CEO NurPamudji said, these power plants are crucial to step up power capacity in Javaand Bali from 19,700 up to 23,000 megawatt (MW).

Thecoal-fired power plant is also said to cut PLN expenses as much as 19.9trillion rupiah ($2.19 billion) per year, by converting from fuel-based powerplant.

Details onpower plant projects as follows:

— PLTU 1Banten-Suralya: Capacity at 1 x 625 megawatt with 2.9 million metric tons peryear coal consumption. Located in Suralaya, Banten, with investment size ataround $478 million. The project is run by CNTIC and Indonesia state-ownedRekayasa Industri consortium.

— PLTU 3Banten-Lontar: Capacity at 3 x 315 megawatt with 1.4 million metric tons peryear coal consumption. Located in Lontar, Banten, with investment size ataround $808.4 million. The project is run by China power equipment giantDongfang Electric Corporation and Dalle Energy consortium.

— PLTUTanjung Jati B: Capacity at 2 x 662 megawatt with 2.2 million metric tons peryear coal consumption. Located in Tubanan, Central Java, with investment sizeat around 160 billion yen ($2.06 billion). The project is run by Japan’sthird-largest trading firm Sumitomo Corporation, Wasa Mitra Engineering andBangladeshi power firm Summit Power Development Ltd.

Indonesiawants to boost its electricity capacity under the government’s fast-trackprogram to add a total of 20,000 megawatts generating capacity. Power shortagesare common in Indonesia, where poor infrastructure is one of the factorsrestricting growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Reuters

Two ministers to facilitate geothermal projects in forest areas

2011-12-19T22:04:00.002+07:00

Antara News, Mon, December 19 2011

Jero Wacik (right) and Zulkifli Hasan (left).
(ANTARA/Prasetyo Utomo)

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Jakarta(ANTARA News) - Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik and ForestryMinister Zukfili Hassan on Monday inked an agreement to facilitateimplementation of geothermal energy projects in production and protected anddevelopment of the same energy sources in conservation forest areas.

Under thememorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two ministers, the two partieswould coordinate with each other on and speed up the issuance of licences forgeothermal development projects in production, protected and conservationforest areas in the country.

Jero Waciksaid on the occasion the country`s need for energy was increasing continuouslyand therefore development of alternative energy sources including geothermalhad become an absolute need.

"Wewill from now on more seriously encourage development of geothermal energysources," Wacik said, noting that 40 percent of the world`s geothermalenergy potentials was to be found in Indonesia.

ForestryMinister Zulkifli Hassan for his part said the agreement with the energy andmineral resources minister was made in line with a presidential instruction tospeed up development of geothermal energy resources.

"ThisMoU will support the government`s program to build a 10,000-MW power productioncapacity," he said.

Jero saidin the MoU the two sides had set the time required to issue a license for theinitiation of a geothermal development project in a protected forest area at 1to 7 months and to speed up the issuance of permits for 28 such projects acrossthe country.

The 28peojects were located at Lumit Balai, Sarulla, Karaha, Telaga Ngebel, Bedugul,Gunung Ungaran, Gunung Rajabasa, Rauntau Dedap, Gunung Tampomas, Hu`u Daha,Sorik Merapi., Sokaria.

Also atTangkuban Perahu, Balwen Ijen, Baturaden, , Wayang Windu, Patuha, Dieng,Kaldera Danau Banten, Cisolok Sukarame, Lili Panangawan, Sungai Penuh,Hululais, Kamojang 5 and 6, Sibayak, Iyang Argopuro, Kotamobagu and Darajat.

"Thestipulation of a maximum period for the issuance of a license is meant to givethe developer certainty in applying for a license and to minimize thepossibility of overlaps in the designation of the frest areas concerned,"Jero said.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Indonesia Passes Land Acquisition Bill

2011-12-16T16:14:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, December 16, 2011

Indonesian members of parliament approved the final draft of a long-awaited
land bill on Wednesday that investors hope will speed up land acquisition for
government infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
(Antara Photo)

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Jakarta.Indonesia’s House of Representatives on Friday approved a long-awaited landacquisition bill investors hope will give a big boost to governmentinfrastructure projects in Southeast Asia’s top economy.

The bill isan attempt to break the bottleneck in infrastructure development that has longbeen seen as holding back growth in Southeast Asia’s top economy.

It alsopresents major investment opportunities in a country where roads, ports andairports are overloaded.

The House,also known as the DPR, on Wednesday signaled it would pass the bill.

A daylater, Fitch Ratings gave Indonesia an investment grade rating, which could actas a spur to much-needed investment.

Fitch hadcited weak infrastructure as one reason why it had delayed the upgrade.

Thecontroversial bill was passed despite a barrage of interruptions from membersof the 560-strong parliament.

Shares inIndonesian construction, property and toll road firms have rallied this week onhopes the bill would be passed.

Bankers saythe delay in passing the bill has been holding up the dispersal of loans tocompanies for infrastructure development this year.

The maintoll road operator, Jasa Marga had described the impact of the delay on itsbusiness as like a race car waiting for a track.

Sucorinvestsees the bill as positive for firms such as PT Wijaya Karya, PT Citra MargaNusaphala Persada and PT Adhi Karya.

Though thebill only applies to government projects, it is likely to benefit privatelyoperated projects on government-bought land.

Thegovernment is relying on about $150 billion of private investment between 2010and 2014 to overhaul its roads, railways and ports.

Withoutbetter infrastructure, analysts say the country’s growth may start to slowbecause of capacity constraints.

Humanrights groups say the bill disregards traditional land rights and could lead tomore conflict over land and forced expropriation of property.

Reuters

Indonesia Legislators Give Green Light to Land Bill

Reuters

PLN ready to build Jatigede hydro power plant

2011-12-15T22:22:00.002+07:00

Antara News,Thu, December 15 2011

Jakarta(ANTARA News) - State electricity company PT PLN is planning to build a hydropower plant with a capacity of 2x25 megawatts in Jatigede, Sumedang district,West Java province.

The planwould soon be realized following an agreement between PLN and the DirectorateGeneral of Water Resources at the Public Works Ministry, PLN senior corporatecommunication manager Bambang Dwiyanto said here on Thursday.

Under theagreement, the Public Works Ministry will develop and manage a dam needed tooperate the power plant, while PLN will build and manage the power plant.

Theconstruction of Jatigede hydro power plant will cover a power house, along withwater ways, surge tank, penstock, tailrace, transformer yard and switch yard,transmission line and other supporting facilities.

"Theelectrical power produced by the Jatigede power plant will be incorporated tothe Java-Bali 150 kV transmission system," Bambang said.

The constructionof the dam is designed not only to generate electricity but also to irrigate 90hectares of rice field and control floods in West Java`s northern coastalareas, particularly between Cirebon and Indramayu.

Theconstruction of the hydro power plant will cost an estimated US$224.4 million.

Bambangsaid PLN was in the process of preparing a tender for the construction of the2x25 megawatt-capacity power plant. "We hope that the Jatigede power plantwill be able to supply electrical power to the Java-Bali transmission system asearly as in 2015," he said.

Editor: Heru

INDONESIA: BMW starts assembling 5-series in Indonesia

2011-12-15T19:12:00.001+07:00

Just-Auto, Tony Pugliese, 15 December 2011

BMW hasbegun assembly of its 5-series in Indonesia, at the PT Gaya Motor plant inJakarta which is owned by its local distributor PT Astra International.

The plant,which also makes the 3-series model as well as vehicles of other brands, has aninitial capacity of four 5-series units a day. This will be increased to eightin early 2012. Around 80% of local 5-series sales are expected to be assembledat the plant.

BMW sold1,399 units in the January-November period of 2011, including 496 3-series and394 5-series.

RI, China exploring cooperation on renewable energy

2011-12-13T01:01:00.000+07:00

Antara News, Mon, December 12 2011

Indonesia and China which had a big populationwere seeking to cooperate on renewable energy to anticipate the depletion offossil energy resources.

RelatedNews

Jakarta(ANTARA News) - Indonesia and China are exploring cooperation on thedevelopment of renewable energy, a cabinet minister said.

ForestryMinister Zulkifli Hasan said here on Monday that Indonesia and China which hada big population were seeking to cooperate on renewable energy to anticipatethe depletion of fossil energy resources.

"It isimportant for the two countries to develop renewable energy in the face ofdeclining fossil energy resources. After all, China has relatively advancedtechnology on renewable energy, such as technology on the utilization of solarand hydro energy," the minister said.

Theminister expressed his hope that the two countries would respectively set up ateam to follow up on the results of a meeting between him and a Chinesedelegation which was led by Cao Jialin, deputy technology minister at theChinese Science and Technology Ministry.

Earlier,the forestry minister said that timber estate management and wood pelletproduct were two business sectors that were prospective for investors.

"Woodpellet as fuel is a renewable energy and environment friendly. This is becauseit involves a process of planting first and then utilizing it," theminister said.

At present,South Korea is encouraging the utilization of bio mass energy in the form ofwood pellets in line with the shrinking of fossil fuel resources.

The problemis that the expansion of timber estate in South Korea faced land limitationproblem.

Theminister said that Indonesia needed to develop its bio mass energy becausebesides optimizing raw materials from timber estate the business also couldabsorb many workers.

ForestryMinistry Secretary General Hadi Daryanto said that there were three Koreaninvestors who had been given permits by the ministry to develop timber estatesand wood pellet factory with a production capacity of about 40,000 tons.

"TheKorean investors needed large lands for their investment. The proposals thathave been tabled cover 200,000 hectares and the ministry has approved 140,000hectares with an investment of Rp6 trillion," he said.

Editor: Heru

Austria opens its new ‘green’ embassy

2011-11-30T01:15:00.001+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tue, 11/29/2011

For a bright future: Austrian Ambassador to Indonesia Klaus Wolfer
(second left) gestures as he gives his opening statement accompanied
by Austrian State Secretary for European and International Affairs. Wolfgang
Waldner (right) while Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s American and Europe
Affairs director general Retno L.P. Marsudi (second right) looks on at the
reception of Austrian Day at the Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Hotel in Jakarta
on Monday. JP/ Jerry Adiguna

Hundreds ofguests strolled into the spacious ballroom at Hotel Indonesia-Kempinski inCentral Jakarta to celebrate Austria’s national day and the official opening ofthe new “green” embassy building.

AustrianAmbassador to Indonesia Klaus Wolfer and his wife greeted guests, includingIndonesia’s Foreign Ministry director general for American and European affairsRetno L.P. Marsudi and other diplomats from foreign representative offices inJakarta.

VisitingAustrian State Secretary for European and International affairs WolfgangWaldner also attended the ceremony.

Wolfer saidthat Austria had officially opened its new “green” embassy in Menteng, CentralJakarta, on Monday morning.

“Jakartashould be the place that will go beyond the normal routine to establishlow-energy housing in tropical climates,” Wolfer told The Jakarta Post duringthe ceremony.He said that the embassy was installed with instruments to preventheat. “We applied solar panels in the building to save energy.”

Wolferadded that the new two-story building could reduce the wasted energy from 100percent to only 17 percent.He said that Jakarta was the pilot project for thegreen type embassy building which would possibly

apply inother countries.

Waldneralso said that Austria and Indonesia’s foreign ministers had signed anagreement about student exchanges on Monday morning.

“We areplanning to send 10 post-graduate Indonesian students to Austria next year,” hetold the Post, adding that there will be two-way exchanges in the future.

He saidthat at present the student exchange program would only be for postgraduatestudents of mathematics and natural sciences.

“We willsend Indonesian students to some universities in Vienna and in the future wewill send Austrian students to the Bandung Institute of Technology and GadjahMada University in Yogyakarta,” Wolfer added.(drs)

Geothermal drilling in Solok Selatan scheduled in 2012

2011-11-29T23:59:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Tue, November 29 2011

RelatedNews

Illustration of geothermal project.
(ANTARA files/Ujang Zaelani)

Padang Aro,West Sumatra (ANTARA News) - The geothermal drilling in Solok Selatan, WestSumatra, which will be utilized as power plant by PT Supreme Energy wasscheduled in 2012.

"Underthe contract, the geothermal drilling in Solok Selatan will be carried out inthe first quarter of 2012 with an initial plan of seven points in Pekonina,Pauh Duo sub-district," head of the Solok Selatan energy and mineralresources agency Yulian Efi said in the company of energy section chiefZilhamri said in Padang Aro on Tuesday.

Yulian saidright now Supreme Energy with the assistance of the regional administration isopening 70 hectares of land which would be continued by road construction.

"Wehope that in the five years of explorations, PLN would provide powersmoothly," he said.

He saidunder the mining working area issued by the energy and mineral resourcesminister in 2009, the geothermal power which would be produced in Solok Selatanwould reach 400 megawatts, while the geohermal area in Liki Pinangawan wouldreach 62,300 hectares.

In themeantime, according to the result of the initial survey by PT Supreme Energyand the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 2008, there were 30 pointsstretching from Balun, Koto Parik Gadang Diateh sub-district to LikiPinangawan, Pauh Duo sub-district, of geothermal power in Solok Selatan with acapacity of 600 megawatts.

Yulian alsosaid that PT Supreme Energy planned to produce 1,120 megawatts of power in 2014and 2015, and 110 megawatts in the first stage. And in the following yearproduction will reach 110 megawatts.

"Underthe contract, the power which will be produced reached 2x110 megawatts in 30years," he said.

He said inDecember or January 2012, the Solok Selatan administration will introduce thedevelopment of geothermal power into electric power to the general public.

BesidesSolok Selatan, the potential of geothermal power in West Sumatra covers sevenregencies, including Pasaman, Solok, Pasaman Barat, Limapuluh Kota, Tanahdatar,Agam or 17 points producing electricity of 1,656 megawatts.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

W. Java to open batik academy

2011-11-29T17:56:00.001+07:00

The JakartaPost, Jakarta,Tue, 11/29/2011

The WestJava Batik Foundation (YBJB) will establish a Batik Academy to develop andtrain young professional Batik makers.

“The WestJava Batik Academy will train batik professionals to master batik skills and beready to work in the batik industry,” the foundation’s executive directorKomaruddin Hudiya said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency.

The academyis scheduled to be established in 2012 with a capacity of more than 100graduates per class. Every class will learn batik for three months and developtheir own businesses.

“The batikmarket is still promising right now, even though the booming started in 2009.We are trying to maintain the market’s gusto for batik products by developingbatik motifs from various regencies,” Komaruddin said.

He addedthat there had been 200 batik motifs in West Java that had been published in abatik motifs pocket book.

Iraq invites Pertamina to join bids to explore oil

2011-11-29T17:52:00.001+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tue, 11/29/2011

Pertamina project.
(ANTARA/Reno Esnir)

The Iraqiauthorities have invited Indonesian state-run oil firm PT Pertamina to joinbids to explore oil blocks in Iraq.

IraqiAmbassador to Indonesia Ismieal S. Muhsin said Pertamina stood a good chance ofexploring oil in Iraq, but it first had to win the related bids.

“We hopePertamina will take part in the next bids,” Muhsin said Tuesday in Jakarta, asquoted by kontan.co.id.

Kontanearlier reported that Pertamina had previously declared its readiness toexplore Iraq's Western Desert 3 and Tuba blocks.

In April2002, Pertamina signed a contract to explore and develop the Western Desert 3block, which is located 300 kilometers southwest of Baghdad and is estimated tocontain three billion barrels worth of oil reserves.

Thecontract stipulated that should Pertamina manage to find oil during three yearsof geological and seismic studies worth US$24 million in the block, thecooperation would be extended for another two years. The contract’simplementation, however, was disrupted with the US invasion of Iraq that tookplace in 2003.

Pertaminais also reportedly eyeing the Tuba block, which produces 150,000 barrels of oilper day. To operate the block, however, Pertamina should first compete withthree companies: namely, India-based Oil Natural Gas Corp., Algeria-basedAlgerian Sonatrach and China-based Chinese Petroleum.

Related Article:

Pertamina welcomes Iraqi offer to manage oil and gas block

Lippo Group to Build Six Hospitals in 2012

2011-11-23T17:48:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, IvanDasa Saputra, November 23, 2011

A doctor and his assistant perform simulations at the Siloam
Cancer Hospital MRCCC Semanggi, Jakarta. The Lippo Group
is planning to build six more hospitals next year.
(JG Photo/Safir Makki)

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The LippoGroup is planning to build six international standard hospitals in fiveIndonesian regions next year.

“Everyhospital should be built with international principles, using internationalstandards, equipment and service,” James Riady, CEO of the Lippo Group, said onWednesday.

James saidthat while it is not relevant to get international accreditation for allhospitals, the hospitals will be built with international standards.

“Internationalaccreditation needs a high budget that might have an impact on patients,” Jamessaid.

The sixhospitals will be built in Makassar, Manado, Bali, Palembang and Jakarta withan investment of Rp 300 to Rp 500 billion ($33 million to $55 million) each.

As part ofthe Lippo Group’s mission to serve all sections of society, Siloam Hospital,owned by the Lippo Group, is increasing space for a third class ward.

“We willkeep on building hospitals because we’re hoping to be the main player in thehealth industry,” James said.

The JakartaGlobe is affiliated with the Lippo Group.

Sharp to invest $1 billion in solar tech in Indonesia

2011-11-20T15:38:00.001+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 11/20/2011

Japaneseelectronics giant Sharp has sealed a deal at the ASEAN Summit in Bali to investUS$ 1 billion in solar cell technology in Indonesia, according to a topgovernment official.

“Sharp hasassessed that our country has been blessed with sunlight throughout the years.This has a great potential that is waiting to be explored,” Energy and MineralResources Minister Jero Wacik said on Saturday as quoted bytempointeraktif.com.

Sharpcurrently has a pilot project in Thailand with 160 hectares of solar cell panelsthat generate up to 73 megawatts for 23 US cents per kilowatt-hour.

“We’lldiscuss the details in upcoming meetings,” he said.

RI, US agree on $600 mln cooperation project

2011-11-18T22:58:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Fri,November 18 2011

USPresident Barack Obama and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang

Yudhoyonoshaking hands following statements to the press after their

meeting on thesidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)

and East Asiasummits in Nusa Dua on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on Friday.

(AFPPhoto)

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonoand US President Barack Obama announced the agreement in a joint statement tothe press following their bilateral meeting at the Bali Nusa Dua ConventionCenter (BNDCC).

RelatedNews

Nusa Dua,Bali (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and the United States have agreed on a US$600million cooperation project under a so-called "Millennium ChallengeCorporation Compact" in support of environmentally friendly andsustainable development in the former.

IndonesianPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and US President Barack Obama announced theagreement in a joint statement to the press following their bilateral meetingat the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC) here on Friday.

"Indonesiais thankful to the US for the Millennium Comprehensive Partnership worth US$600million to support environmentally friendly development," PresidentYudhoyono said.

Thecooperation was designed to assist Indonesia in developing clean energy, foodand public health programs as well as in modernizing goods and serviceprocurement process.

PresidentYudhoyono said the Indonesia-US relations had been improving since the twonations signed a comprehensive partnership agreement a few years ago.

In thepolitical, legal and security fields both nations had been engaged in variousactivities such as dialogs, military education and training including the USgrant of F-16s to Indonesia, he said.

Bothnations also had signed a trade and investment agreement to increase investmentand trade ties between the two nations, he said.

PresidentYudhoyono also expressed Indonesia`s wish to become a US strategic partner inbuilding democratic cooperation which pays respect for human rights.

Meanwhile,President Obama said his visit to Bali for the 6th East Asia Summit was aconcrete example of the US focus on the Asia-Pacific region to get betterinvolved in the regional organization.

He sharedYudhoyono`s view that relations between the two countries had been improvingsince the signing of the comprehensive partnership agreement.

He said thesigning of a commercial agreement between Boeing and Lion Air at Grand HyattHotel in Bali earlier in the day was an example of the ever increasingly closercooperation between the two nations in the economic field.

Under theagreement, Lion Air is planning to buy 200 Boeing planes for at least US$2billion.

Editor: Heru

Related Article:

Indonesia’s Lion Air to Buy 230 New Boeing 737s in $21.7b Deal

Indonesia’s Lion Air to Buy 230 New Boeing 737s in $21.7b Deal

2011-11-17T21:00:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, November 17, 2011

Indonesia’s Lion Air has agreed to buy 230 Boeing 737 aircraft with a
list price of $21.7 billion, the White House said on Thursday, touting the
sale as the US firm’s biggest-ever commercial order. (Antara Photo/File)

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Nusa Dua.Indonesia’s Lion Air has agreed to buy 230 Boeing 737 aircraft with a listprice of $21.7 billion, the White House said on Thursday, touting the sale asthe US firm’s biggest-ever commercial order.

The dealwas announced soon after President Barack Obama touched down in Bali for theEast Asia summit on the final leg of a regional tour partly aimed at drummingup markets for US products at a time of slow growth back home.

The WhiteHouse also highlighted other deals, some already announced, including the saleof eight Boeing 777 planes to Singapore Airlines and an order for Sikorsky BlackHawk helicopters by Brunei’s Ministry of Defense.

Officialssaid the Lion Air order was for 201 Boeing 737MAX aircraft and 29 NextGeneration 737ER planes.

“ThePresident will join a signing ceremony between the representatives of Boeingand Lion Air on November 18,” a White House statement said.

“With 230airplanes at a list price of $21.7 billion, this order represents the largestcommercial airplane agreement ever for Boeing.”

AviationWeek reported on November 4 that Lion Air, Indonesia’s largest privately-heldcarrier, was seeking new narrow bodied aircraft and was considering 737s andthe European-made Airbus 320.

The WhiteHouse also said that the deal included options for a further 150 aircraftvalued at $14 billion, which could put the eventual deal at $35 billion.

Officialssaid that the deal would support 110,000 American jobs at Boeing and atsuppliers throughout 43 American states, at a time of 9.0 percent unemploymentwhich is clouding Obama’s 2012 reelection prospects.

The WhiteHouse also highlighted another big Boeing deal, the sale of eight 777-300ERjets to Singapore Airlines worth $2.4 billion which will support a further11,000 US jobs. That contract had already been made public.

Indonesia’sGaruda Airlines meanwhile has signed a contract to buy 50 CFM56 GeneralElectric engines worth $1.3 billion, the White House said..

AndSikorsky will sell Brunei 12 Blackhawk S-70i helicopters worth $325 million,the White House said, adding that the total value of all the deals was $25billion.

Agence France-Presse

Indonesia's Lion Air has placed the largest ever commercial airplane
order in Boeing's history, valued at $21.7 billion. (AFP Photo)

Related Articles:

Indonesia’s Lion Air Roars with Record Boeing Order

Boeing gets biggest order ever from Lion Air

Adhi Karya to build 100-floor tower in Jakarta

2011-11-15T23:58:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Tue, November 15 2011

The tower is a mega project with a height of600 meters in the Kemayoran complex, Jakarta.

Jakarta(ANTARA News) - After the rights issue in the first semester of 2012, PT AdhiKarya Tbk (ADHI) planned to build a 100-floor tower in Jakarta, Minister ofState Companies Dahlan Iskan said at his office on Monday night.

He believedthat the 100-floor tower will become Indonesia`s pride considering its extremeheight.

"Theproject will be built following ADHI`s rights issue," Dahlan said withoutpointing to the tower`s exact location.

He said thetower will be built by using unproductive government land. Right now the landwas still under the control of the Finance Ministry, but will be handed over toADHI to build it.

Inrealizing the major project, Dahlan will give ADHI the full responsibility inseeking business partners and the funds. "It appeared that the projectwould be realized under a corporate action, and let ADHI do all the plans andthinking," he said.

With regardto the possibility of the tower being used by state owned companies outsideJava island, he dismissed, saying that the tower is a commercial project.

Previouslyformer minister of state-owned companies Mustafa Abubakar had received thedesign of the tower from two senior businessmen Ciputra and Tommy Winata. AndCiputra and Tommy Winata had even offered to build the project with five andfour towers.

The toweris a mega project with a height of 600 meters in the Kemayoran complex,Jakarta.

Editor: Heru

South Korea interested in ri`s renewable energy

2011-11-15T02:31:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Tue, November 15 2011

Jakarta(ANTARA News) - South Korea is interested in making investment in the renewableenergy sector in Indonesia, a deputy minister said.

Energy andMineral Resources Deputy Minister Widjajono Partowidagdo made the remark afterholding a meeting with the South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia at the Ministryof Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) here on Monday.

"SouthKorea is willing to invest in Indonesia, not only in Jakarta but also in otherregions. Besides in electricity, South Korea is also interested in therenewable energy sector," he said.

He saidthat in the energy sector South Korea was very interested in taking part in thedevelopment of a receiving terminal storage in Belawang, Medan, North Sumatra.

"SouthKorea welcomes the development of the receiving terminal storage. They also areopen for joining the development of the one in Semarang (Central Java). What issure is that they will make investment as much as possible," the deputyminister said.

In themeantime, South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Kim Yong Sun said that Indonesiawas a very potential country for investment, particularly in the energy sector.

"Weare willing to cooperate in the energy sector and power generation and this ispart of our agenda in the ASEAN Summit in Bali," the ambassador said.

Kim saidthat South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will arrive in Bali during the ASEANsummit this week to hold follow up talks on the investment plan.

However,the South Korean side was not available to disclose the value of investment itwould make in the renewable energy sector in Indonesia.

"Renewableenergy is quite competitive with our technology," Kim said.

Besidesmaking investment in the energy sector, the South Korean government is alsointerested in developing electronic industry, garment, shoe and steel industry.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

Govt targets Internet coverage on all islands by 2012

2011-11-11T22:06:00.001+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 11/11/2011

TheCommunications and Information Technology Ministry is targeting to connect allislands in Indonesia to the Internet by 2012, according to an official.

Aministry’s expert staffer, Suprawoto, said on Friday that the ministry alsoplanned that all islands would have broadband networks by 2016.

He saidthat the plans were a “follow up” to the Indonesia Informatif (InformativeIndonesia) program, which has been a vision of the ministry.

“IndonesiaInformatif is our effort to bring Indonesian people closer to information,” hesaid in a forum in Gorontalo, North Sulawesi, Antara news agency reported.

He addedthat the ministry hoped Indonesians would use the Internet for education andcommunity empowerment purposes.

“People areuneducated or poor not because of their financial situation but because of alack of information,” he said.

Suprawotosaid the ministry had developed the Desa Berdering (Villages Rings) programthis year, building infrastructure in 5,874 districts that gave villages accessto telephones, the radio and the Internet.

“We arebuilding the optical fiber networks on the remaining islands. It has nowreached Papua,” he added.

Indonesia Works To Secure Lead in "Ring of Fire" Geothermal Market

2011-11-02T23:00:00.001+07:00

Renewable Energy World, By Ivan Castano, Contributor , November 2, 2011

Jakarta,Indonesia -- Indonesia is aggressively moving to build up its geothermalindustry with plans add as much as 9,000 MW of installed capacity by 2025.However, industry observers say the Southeast Asian country's government mustdo more to attract foreign investment if it wants to achieve that target.

"Thetenders are out there, they just need the investors to come in," says PaulBrophy, president and chief executive of geothermal consultancy GES, which isworking with the Indonesian government to help boost foreign investment anddevelop the geothermal industry. "So far, some 20 to 30 concessions havebeen issued so there is still lots of room for new companies to come in anddevelop the resources."

Industryobservers say Indonesia, with the world's highest number of active volcanoes,has the greatest geothermal potential in the so-called Ring of Fire volcanicregion straddling the country as well as New Zealand, Philippines, Japan andthe Eastern part of Russia. Of all those countries, Indonesia, Philippines andJapan have the strongest development potential, observers say.

However,Indonesia has more volcanic "hot spots" (some 265) and a moreaggressive development scheme than the other countries. Developers are usingthese hot spots to drill holes that can produce steam from volcanic energy. Sofar, Chevron is the leading foreign developer in the sector but othersincluding Indian industrial conglomerate Tata, Shell, Canada's RaserTechnologies and Australia's Origin Energy are also looking to set upgeothermal plants.

InvestmentChallenge

Brophy saidthe biggest stumbling block in the way to Indonesia's development dream is adearth of foreign investment as the government does not want to finance the9,000-MW build-up, estimated to cost $30 billion, on its own.

To do this,the government recently issued a law that would allow foreign developers topursue their own projects as long as an Indonesian player receives a fivepercent stake in them. To meet this requirement, international developers mustset up consortiums that include at least one Indonesian company, Brophy explained,adding that he thinks that the law will boost investment. This is becausebefore, foreign companies were mostly restricted to partner with state energygroup Pertamina if they wanted to build a geothermal project in Indonesia.

"Theydon't need to partner with Peternina anymore. They can go on their own as longas an Indonesian player has at least five percent equity in the project,"adds one industry observer.

JenniferDerstine, a renewable energy analyst at the U.S. Department of Commerce's internationaltrade mission, agrees that the government is working to attract moreinternational players. She adds that when the department of commerce launched ageothermal trade mission two years ago, the investment framework banned foreigncompanies from pursuing small geothermal projects on their own. However, thatis now allowed and is expected to bolster interest from U.S. and other foreigncompanies to roll out projects.

"Thelaw had reserved smaller-size development permits of geothermal plants under 10MW for Indonesian companies. Now, the market is open to U.S. geothermaldevelopers and investors," says Derstine.

"Uncompetitive"Tariffs

However,echoing other views, she says tariffs are still too low to make geothermalprojects competitive. Brophy saysJakarta is also working to address this issue. State electricity company PLNrecently established a U.S. $0.097 feed-in tariff per kilowatt-hour (kWh) forgeothermal plants, but the region is wiling to negotiate a higher price forprojects located far from the power grid. However, some investors are concernedabout whether debt-ridden PLN will ultimately be able to pay those prices asstate coffers are already burdened with high subsidies for the energy sector,observers say.

Becausebuilding geothermal plants is expensive, with the ultimate capacity that can beextracted from them, uncertain, developers are looking for the highest possibletariffs and assurances that the projects will be profitable before jumping intothe market. Brophy adds that the government is aware that tariffs must be morecompetitive and that it is likely to shift some traditional power subsidiesinto renewable energy to develop the geothermal space as well as other greentechnologies.

TheIndonesian tariff is lower than in the U.S. where developers are paid $0.10 to$0.12 per kWh. Development costs are much lower in Indonesia, however, Brophysays.

If all goeswell — and barring a prolonged and deeper global recession — Brophy hopesIndonesia will be able to attract enough foreign money to meet its 2025geothermal targets, which could ultimately make the country the world's biggestproducer of geothermal power. But it will need to watch over rivals like thePhilippines and Japan. The former is looking to install 3,000 MW by 2020, upfrom 1.95 MW now. And as it moves to diversify its energy matrix following itsrecent nuclear disaster, Japan could also draft ambitious plans to develop its"vast" geothermal resources, Derstine adds.

For now, eyes are on Indonesia as a potential leader in geothermal energy as long as it can get the funds it needs to meet its ambitious development targets.

Two Japanese firms ready to relocate plants to Indonesia

2011-11-01T21:29:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Tue, November 1 2011

Jakarta(ANTARA News) - Two Japanese companies are ready to relocate their plants fromThailand to Indonesia because of protracted flooding in the former, an officialsaid.

"Becauseof the floods we have received a request from Japanese automotive andelectronic manufacturers to relocate their plants from Thailand toIndonesia," the deputy for industry and trade to the coordinating ministerfor economic affairs, Edy Putra Irawady said here on Tuesday.

Edy said atleast four companies, three of them from Japan and one from Europe, intended torelocate their plants to Indonesia.

Thecompanies were automotive and electronic manufacturers which were currentlyoperating in Thailand, he said.

"Twoof the four companies are really new investors, while two others intend torelocate their plants and they are Japanese companies," he said.

But thecompanies had yet to file a formal request to the Indonesian government, hesaid.

"Theyphoned us to ask what incentives the Indonesian government can give to them ifthey relocate their plants here. For instance, will they receive tax holiday ornot?," he said.

But Edystopped short of revealing the names of the Japanese companies.

Askedwhether they were large-scale automotive and electronic manufacturers such asHonda and Nissan, he said they were in the same class as the two Japanesecompanies.

He said twoautomotive companies which intended to expand their investment in Indonesiawere Toyota and Mercedes Benz. Toyota planned to raise its investment by Rp7trillion next year.

"Theywill make Indonesia their production base for their exports," he said.

Editor:Suryanto

No cuts in scholarship allocations for Indonesians: Netherlands

2011-11-01T17:38:00.001+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 11/01/2011

TheNetherlands has no plans to cut the portion of scholarships it has beenallocating for Indonesians despite the debt crisis currently plaguing theEurozone, a Dutch official said here on Tuesday.

“Don'tworry about budgets. We're still offering wide opportunities for Indonesianswho want to study in the Netherlands,” Nuffic NESO Indonesia director MervinBekker told a press gathering in Jakarta.

Nuffic NesoIndonesia is the official representative of Nuffic -the NetherlandsOrganisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education- in Indonesia;for all matters concerning Dutch higher education.

Bekker saidthe Dutch government was even planning to further expand its partnership with Indonesianeducation institutions.

He said theNetherlands considered Indonesia important in its international educationcooperation policy, citing127 partnerships that had been established betweenDutch and Indonesian higher education institutions, 22 percent of which coveredstudent exchanges and 19 percent were in the form of research partnerships,Antara news agency reported.

Nigeria to invest Rp 24t in Indonesian refinery deal

2011-10-12T14:27:00.003+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Wed, 10/12/2011

Nigeriaplans to invest Rp 24 trillion (US$2.68 billion) in Indonesia to fund theconstruction of three oil refineries, an official says.

TheIndustry Ministry's director general for manufacturing-based industry, PanggahSusanto, was quoted by kompas.com as saying that both countries had agreed tobuild the refineries in Indonesia.

Nigeria,which produces 2.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), was looking for apartner to refine its crude oil, Panggah said.

"Previouslythey wanted the refineries to be built in Nigeria," he said Tuesday."However, as Indonesia is currently improving its downstream industry,Indonesia wanted the refineries to be built here instead."

Therefineries, which are projected to produce 300 bpd each, will be used toprocess crude oil from Nigeria.

"Statefirm PT Pertamina will buy the crude oil from Nigeria and process ithere," he said.

Ministry to build micro-hydro power plant in Hukurila, Maluku

2011-10-11T19:25:00.003+07:00

Antara News,Tue, October 11 2011

RelatedNews

Ambon,Maluku (ANTARA News) - The ministry of public works will build a micro hydropower plant in Hukurilla village, South Leitimur sub district, Ambon city,Maluku province with a capacity of 3.30 KiloWatt, a local official said hereTuesday.

GuntarMaha, an official of the Maluku River Center for Raw Water Commitment, said thepower plant would be a pilot project using renewable energy, namely thewatershed of Way Rupa.

The projectwould be built in Hukurilla village because the village was close to the WayRupa river which had potential discharge and height differences that would beturned into micro-hydro energy sources, he said.

Accordingto Guntar, the construction of the micro-hydro power plant project required theclearing of land and procurement of such things as turbines, concrete wire,tranquilizer tank, pillars for supporting concrete pipes, house plants andchannel release.

The projectwould be located 20 kilometers from Ambon city and be inaugurated by PublicWorks Minister Djoko Kirmanto who also would attend the 18th Annual ScientificMeeting (PIT) of the Indonesian Hydraulic Engineers Association (HATHI) onOctober 28 to 30, 2011, Guntar said.

The projectwould also include the building of a one-kilometer-long transmission networkfrom the waterfall`s location to Hukurilla beach which had a population of 147households or 623 people.

Thus theproject would also support the development of maritime tourism in Hukurillawhich has a beach with coral panorama, underwater caves and various types ofreef fish that make it an ideal dive site for domestic and foreign tourists, headded.

"Wewill involve staff from the Public Works Research and Development Agncy inBandung to build the micro-hydro power plant Hukurilla. Similar plants would bedeveloped in other areas in Maluku which have waterfalls with water flows andhigh difference potential," said Guntar.

The goalwas to reach areas that do not have electricity from State-owned ElectricityCompany (PT PLN) of Maluku and North Maluku region.

Micro-hydropower plants use the potentials of waterfalls to generate electricity.

Theobjective was to provide environmentally friendly electric power at lowoperating and maintenance costs in order to improve the quality of life andfostering the economic growth of the rural communities, Guntar said.

Editor: Suryanto

Slovakia to invest $1 bn in Indonesia

2011-10-10T20:55:00.001+07:00

The JakartaPost, Mon, 10/10/2011

Slovakiawas planning to invest US$ 1 billion in Indonesia, visiting Slovakia PresidentIvan Gasparovic told reporters on Monday in Jakarta.

He said theinvestment plan would be included in seven agreements due to be signed onTuesday.

Gasparovicdelivered the plan after meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inMerdeka Palace Jakarta on Monday.

“There arefields to be explored in the areas of trade, agriculture, electricity, powerplant generators and heavy machinery,” President Gasparovic said.

PresidentYudhoyono said Slovakia planned to construct a cement factory in Central Javaand West Papua, a tire factory in Banten and electrical power plants in Lombok(West Nusa Tenggara) and Batam (Riau islands.

“Indonesiahas sent nine proposals to Slovakia. The proposals are in food and agriculture,renewable energy, trade and investment, banking, education, mass media, infrastructureand manufacturing, tourism and culture,” he said.

US, Indonesia announce $28.5 million debt swap for forests

2011-10-03T23:24:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Mon, October 3 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The United States and Indonesia on signed a $28.5 milliondebt-for-nature swap agreement on Monday, the US Embassy here said in itsofficial website on Monday.

Theagreement was signed under the U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) of1998 that will reduce Indonesia`s debt payments to the U.S. Government over thenext eight years by nearly $28.5 million.

In return,the Government of Indonesia will commit these funds to support grants toprotect and restore the country`s tropical forests in Kalimantan. Thisagreement, in partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature-Indonesia (WWF) andThe Nature Conservancy (TNC), will be the second TFCA debt-for-nature swap inIndonesia.

The firstagreement was signed in 2009 and supports forest conservation activities on theisland of Sumatra.

Both ofthese agreements contribute to the climate change and environment objectives ofthe US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership.

Kalimantan- Indonesian Borneo - historically has contained some of the world`s mostremote and biologically-rich forests. There are presently up to 15,000different flowering plants on Borneo and the island is home to a large numberof treasured animal species such as orangutans, clouded leopards, and"pygmy" elephants.

The secondIndonesia TFCA marks the 18th TFCA deal, following agreements with Bangladesh,Belize, Botswana, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica (two agreements), El Salvador,Guatemala, Indonesia (now two agreements), Jamaica, Panama (two agreements),Paraguay, Peru (two agreements), and the Philippines.

Editor: Heru

Telkomsel allocates CSR funds for peoples’ empowerment

2011-10-02T15:16:00.000+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Sun, 10/02/2011

Indonesiantelecommunication giant Telkomsel has spent 65 percent, or Rp 18 billion, ofits Rp 28 billion (US$ 3.16 million) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)budget. The assistance has been committed to community empowerment programs, acompany official said on Sunday.

“We havebeen using the funds to support student capacity building initiatives inschools throughout the country. We are likely to continue with these endeavorsbecause we have received consistent positive feedback,” Telkomsel CSR generalmanager Tubagus Husniyullah said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Tubagussaid Telkomsel was particularly focused on regions recovering from disaster andassisting the organization of activities intended to support local residentsduring their recovery stages.

Australia to Help 300,000 Children Go to School

2011-09-30T13:25:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Post, September 30, 2011

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TheAustralian Government has signed an agreement to disburse 210 millionAustralian dollars to the Indonesian Government to build schools.

Throughthis education partnership, up to 2,000 junior secondary schools will be builtin poor and remote areas where they are most needed, according to a releasesent by AusAid to the Jakarta Globe.

The programbuilds on the highly successful Australia - Indonesia Basic Education Programwhich built more than 2,000 schools between 2006 -2010.

“Educationis a fundamental human right and critical for individuals to lift themselvesout of poverty. This new education partnership will enable a further 300,000Indonesian children to attend school,” said Australia ’s Ambassador toIndonesia , Greg Moriarty.

The twogovernments are working together to achieve Indonesia’s goal of providing nineyears of basic education for all Indonesian girls and boys, regardless of theirgender, where they live or how much their family earns.

“Bettereducated children result in a more productive workforce. Better educated girlslead to lower child and maternal mortality, improved child nutrition andstronger political participation,” Moriarty said.

This assistance is part of the $500 millionfive-year Education Partnership announced by Australian Prime Minister JuliaGillard and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta in late 2010.

The schoolswill be constructed by local communities, using local labour, equipment andmaterials and each will include facilities for the disabled and separatetoilets for boys and girls.

TheEducation Partnership will also improve school management through trainingprovided to 293,000 school principals, school supervisors and districteducation officials.

Unilever invests Rp 1.1t in N. Sumatra

2011-09-29T21:33:00.000+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Thu, 09/29/2011

Multinationalcompany, Unilever, is planning to open a palm-processing plant in Semangke,North Sumatra with a total investment of Rp. 1.1 trillion (US$122 million).

“Unileveris developing a new facility in Semangke, North Sumatra. It is a Fatty Acid OilChemical plant,” Investment Coordinating Board Chief Gita Wirjawan said onThursday as quoted by Antara news wire.

Gita wasamong ministers who accompanied President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in welcomingUnilever top officials at the State Palace on Thursday.

VisitingUnilever top officials included Chairman Michael Treschow; CEO Paul Polman;Chief Supply Chain Officer Pier Luigi Sigismondi; President Director of PTUnilever Indonesia Tbk Maurits Lalisang, and Corporate Secretary SancoyoAntarikso.

Gita saidit would take two years to finish the new facility.

Gita saidthe company was also committed to investing US$600 million for its expansion inIndonesia.

“It has anumber of plants in Java. It accepted our suggestion to build plants outsideJava,” he said.

The companywill cooperate with 10 firms to invest 50 million euro in Nusa Tenggara.

RI gets US$500,000 in assistance from ADB

2011-09-19T15:01:00.002+07:00

EstherSamboh, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 09/19/2011

The AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB) has announced plans to channel grants and loans toimprove the Indonesian government’s capacity in developing infrastructureprojects through public and private partnership (PPP).

“Thetechnical assistance, amounting to US$500,000, provided by the government ofJapan through the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) will support thegovernment in preparing PPP projects that are economically sound, financiallyattractive to private sector financiers and affordable to the government,” theManila-based regional development lender says in a statement released Monday.

Thetechnical assistance is planned to be implemented in 2011, with the NationalDevelopment Planning Agency (Bappenas) as an executing agency and Sarana MultiInfrastruktur

stateinfrastructure fund manager being responsible for implementing the activities.

ADB’stechnical assistance program is aimed at assisting developing countries inplanning and executing projects that it finances with grants and loans, itswebsite says.

“This willsupport the government’s objective in increasing the number and value ofcommercially attractive and sustainable PPP projects offered to the privatesector,” ADB's principal infrastructure specialist Bob Finlayson said.

Thegovernment is seeking to mobilize about $140 million worth of investment ininfrastructure over the next five years, of which 60 percent is to be sourcedfrom the private sector. While the government has developed a number of PPPprojects, they have not attracted significant market interest due to concernsover project design, preparations and implementation, the ADB statement says.

RI, China ink US$6b deal for SE Sulawesi nickel smelter

2011-09-19T14:58:00.001+07:00

EstherSamboh, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 09/19/2011

Chineserepresentatives on Monday signed an agreement with Indonesian officials toinvest US$6 billion in a nickel smelter in Southeast Sulawesi.

Jilinprovincial government’s Jilin Horoc Nonferrous Metal Group Co Ltd will developthe nickel smelting industry in Bombana and North Konawe regencies of SoutheastSulawesi and work with local firm Billy Indonesia with operations starting nextyear.

“First ofall, mining materials should be processed domestically — no more raw materialexports. Secondly, there will be job creation for thousands of people,”Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said after witnessing the agreementby representatives and officials of the related firms, regencies and provinces.

Hatta andInvestment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Gita Wirjawan said they expectedthe project to have a multiplier effect on the regencies’ economies and createjobs for local residents.

PT KAI receives US grant to upgrade railway signal system

2011-09-15T15:29:00.002+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Thu, 09/15/2011

Staterailway firm PT KAI on Thursday announced that it had received a grant worth Rp5.2 billion (US$598,000) from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to bespent on a strategic plan development study to improve its telecommunicationand signaling system.

The grantwas handed by US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel to PT KAI chief directorIgnasius Johan, in Bandung on Thursday.

The railwaysignal system, operated by the train travel chief, is a guide for traindrivers, telling them when to start trains, when to stop them and when totravel at certain speeds.

PT KAIsignals, telecommunication and electricity deputy chief Ira Nevasa said thecompany hoped the study would result in a safer, more efficient and betterquality operating procedure.

Jakarta Turns to Dutch Experts for Sea Dike Plan

2011-09-14T22:58:00.002+07:00

Jakarta Globe, DofaFasila, September 14, 2011

The Jakartaadministration is receiving help from the Rotterdam authorities in preparing amaster plan for a massive sea dike that will help the capital deal with itsperennial flood problems.

JakartaGovernor Fauzi Bowo, speaking after receiving the Dutch technical assistanceteam, said preparations for the plan would take about nine months.

Completingthe plan, he added, would likely take two years, and implementing it would takeat least a decade.

“We hopethis project can proceed, and not be delayed, because it will really determinethe future of Jakarta,” Fauzi said.

TheIndonesian team spearheading the endeavor will also involve the Public WorksMinistry and the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), Fauzi said.

The sameteam completed a study, the Jakarta Coastal Defense Strategy, in May. The studyforesees the need for the giant sea wall to be built off the coast of Jakartaby 2025.

The massivesea wall, besides helping Jakarta cope with flooding, will also fortify thecity’s water supplies, long a problem in the capital, Fauzi said.

“Theemphasis in the building of this giant sea wall as part of the Jakarta CoastalSea Defense project is not only to safeguard the northern coastline of Jakartabut also to make use of this project in an integrated manner for the futurebenefit of the city,” Fauzi said.

The giantsea wall, he said, will also serve as a reservoir to collect water from severalrivers running through Jakarta.

“It isplanned that water from 13 rivers in Jakarta ... will in the future not just beleft to flow into the ocean. We will collect the water within the giant seawall so that it can become a primary source of water for the city. This is inthe long term,” Fauzi said.

To dealwith a possible water shortage while the wall is being planned and built, Fauzisaid city authorities would accelerate a pipeline plan to link Jakarta with theJatiluhur reservoir in Purwakarta, West Java, and plan a desalination plant.The governor has previously referred to the plant a decades-long project.

The pipenetwork from Jatiluhur, the desalination plant and the reservoir formed by thegiant sea wall would buttress the city against floods and protect it from watershortages, Fauzi said.

The giantwall has become increasingly urgent as land subsidence in Jakarta has worseningwhile sea levels have risen, he added.

Officialsin Rotterdam, home to one of the world’s largest ports, have substantialexperience in protective construction. Sitting below sea level, the city isbuilt mostly behind dikes.

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Dutch to help build dikes in Indonesia

Geothermal Investors Want Additional Government Guarantees

2011-09-14T22:06:00.003+07:00

Jakarta Globe, RirinRadiawati Kusuma, September 14, 2011

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Indonesia’sambitious plan to boost power capacity by 10,000 megawatts in three years mightbe in jeopardy because of additional geothermal investor demands, an executivesaid.

Thegovernment issued a regulation early this year that stipulated state-ownedPerusahaan Listrik Negara would buy electricity from geothermal power plants atless than $9.70 per kilowatt hour but at a rate higher than for coal.

The financeministry then issued a ruling that would back PLN’s financial condition shouldPLN face bankruptcy.

Butinvestors aren’t satisfied with the decrees and want a promise that PLN willbuy geothermal energy in any price, said Saunusi Satar, vice president forexternal affairs of Star Energy, on Wednesday.

“We havedone the exploration activities which involves a lot of risk. We demand a fullguarantee in all of our geothermal activities,” Sanusi said. “PLN should buypower at any price.”

Geothermalplants that face possible construction delays include Supramu Energy, StarEnergy, Bakrie Power, Tata Power, and Golden Spike.

Sanusiexplained that the companies would not start drilling into the geothermal welluntil the demands are met.

Star Energyhas set aside $210 million to invest in Wayang Windu unit 2, with capacity of227 megawatts, from the geothermal block in West Java, Sanusi said, and movingfrom the exploration stage to power production takes approximately four to fiveyears.

“It may becompleted after 2015, I think,” Sanusi said, meaning the government’s 2014 goalwill not be met.

Thegovernment’s 2014 power plan includes 4,000 megawatts from geothermal sources.

MuhammadSofyan, head of renewable energy division at PLN, said that private companiesshould not be worried with PLN’s ability to purchase power.

“We arecommitted to buying the power from geothermal power plant,” Sofyan said, addingthat PLN also plans to boost geothermal as the second biggest energy source by2020.

Toyota Toots Its Horn Over Massive New W. Java Plant

2011-09-14T02:45:00.002+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Faisal Maliki Baskoro, September 13, 2011

Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda arrived in style in Jakarta on Tuesday,
posing beside an orange 1977 Toyota Kijang, a popular model during the
company’s four decades in Indonesia. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

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Toyota’ssupply chain may have been hit by the impact of the March tsunami in its homecountry of Japan, but the automotive maker is pushing ahead with expansionplans abroad, including in Indonesia.

Visitingthe archipelago to mark 40 years of Toyota’s presence here, Akio Toyoda, thecompany’s chief executive, formally announced its plan to build a second plantin West Java.

Toyoda metIndonesia’s president and vice president on Tuesday, as well as an IndustryMinistry official, to provide details of Toyota’s Indonesia plans.

“Ourexpansion plan shows our commitment to Indonesia,” Toyoda said, after brieflydriving an orange 1977 Toyota Kijang, once the company’s most popular model.

Toyoda saidIndonesia had become a focus of investor attention and a leader amongdeveloping nations as economies in Japan and Europe were clouded by economiccrises.

Despiteglobal production plans being disrupted by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami,Toyoda said that by June, Toyota had recovered “100 percent,” ahead of initialprojections.

This was“thanks to the hard work and support of our people and thanks to the supportfrom other countries like Indonesia,” he said.

Toyotaannounced it would build its second factory in a 76,000-square-meter facilitynext to its existing plant in Karawang, 60 kilometers east of Jakarta.

Toyotaincreased its investment to Rp 2.9 trillion ($336 million) from the Rp 1.7trillion it committed in March in a sign of the growing automotive demand inIndonesia.

The factoryis expected to be completed by 2013 and add 70,000 units of annual productioncapacity. Toyota is also keen to boost the local content of its cars and hopesthe factory will generate 15,000 jobs.

Toyotaexpects to boost its exports from Indonesia, which last year represented 42percent of its 107,000 unit output in the nation.

Toyotaleads the market in Indonesia with a 37 percent share. Toyoda attributed thatsuccess to the Kijang, a family van.

“It’s theroad that makes the car. Making cars that suit the characteristics ofIndonesian roads is our way to catch our customer,’’ Toyoda said.

The ToyotaKijang has been sold in Indonesia for three decades. “Together with the KijangInnova, these two models are our stars,” Toyoda said.

JohnnyDarmawan, the president director of local distributor Toyota Astra Motor, saidthe trend in Indonesia was toward multipurpose vans to accommodate families,while there was also likely demand for a low-cost hatchback.

“We arealso looking to export some of the cars produced in the new plant, but ourpriority is still satisfying the local demand,” he said.

Johnny saidToyota and the government were still in talks over tax incentives, but thatinfrastructure such as ports was more important.

EdwinSebayang, the head of research at MNC Securities in Jakarta, said Indonesia’sgrowing economy and easy financing would drive car sales.

“It’s notsurprising at all that automotive companies are posting high revenues with highmargins,” he said.

Nestle Begins Construction of $200m Factory in Indonesia

2011-09-13T13:11:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, September 13, 2011

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Geneva.Swiss food giant Nestle said on Monday it began construction of a $200 million(146.7 million euros) factory in Indonesia which will produce infant cereals,chocolate malt drinks and milk powder.

“Ourdecision to invest USD 200 million in Karawang is consistent with the growth indemand and our confidence in the rapidly developing economy of Indonesia,”Arshad Chaudhry, President Director of Nestle Indonesia said in a statement.

The factoryin the town of Karawang, West Java, will create over 600 jobs and is expectedto open in early 2013, the company added.

Agence France-Presse

Goldman, Morgan in Talks to Buy Indonesian Brokers: Sources

2011-09-13T03:42:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, September 12, 2011

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GoldmanSachs and Morgan Stanley are each in talks to buy an Indonesian brokerage firmto expand their reach into the booming capital market of Southeast Asia’sbiggest economy, sources said.

Goldman isin talks to buy Tiga Pilar Sekuritas and expects to complete the acquisitionbefore the end of 2011 as it aims to start a local brokerage operation nextyear, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters on Monday.

Goldmandoes not have an underwriting or broking license in Indonesia, while MorganStanley secured an underwriting licence in 2008, but is seeking a biggerpresence through a full-fledged broker license.

Both banksplan to add research analysts as well as sales and trading staff to thebrokerages next year, while Goldman could also add investment bankers, as theyseek to win fees from equity offerings and debt deals, the sources said.

“I thinkthis signals a positive view on our capital market ... It has really become animportant destination for global investment banks,” said Winston Sual, whomanages nearly $1 billion in funds at Panin Sekuritas in Jakarta.

“This willgive more competition for fees among global bankers like JPMorgan and CreditSuisse.”

The banks’plans in Indonesia, which has seen its stock market hit records this year onsurging foreign investment, follow moves by Nomura Holdings and Citigroup toramp up equity research teams in Jakarta this year to challenge leaders CreditSuisse and Deutsche Bank.

Investmentinterest in the G20 member is set to rise again next year, when Indonesia hopesto get an upgrade by Fitch Ratings to an investment grade sovereign rating thatwill put it alongside top emerging BRIC nations such as Brazil.

Goldman hascompleted due diligence for Tiga Pilar and both parties are now negotiating thedeal structure and valuation, said one of the sources, who all declined to beidentified.

“Goldmanhas already asked Tiga Pilar to start looking for prospective staff and bankersas a precondition before they complete the deal,” said the source. No financialdetails were immediately available.

Officialsat Tiga Pilar and Goldman declined to comment.

The TigaPilar deal size is likely to be small as Goldman is only seeking to buy theoperating licenses that the deal will provide. It will need to at least injectthe Rp 50 billion ($6 million) in license costs and required brokerage capital.

Tiga Pilar,partly owned by the family of Tan Pia Sioe, traded Rp 445 billion by stockvalue in the first six months of this year, ranking it 102 out of 117 activebrokerages, according to stock exchange data.

The IDXcomposite index has jumped over 5 percent so far this year, topping the list ofgainers in Southeast Asia.

Goldman’srival Morgan Stanley has also identified a target brokerage firm to acquire andhopes to conduct due diligence this year in order to start operations nextyear, said three other sources with direct knowledge of this deal.

“Talks areongoing. It is still early to mid-phase. Morgan Stanley is talking to people,”said one of the sources. Sources declined to give the name of the targetbrokerage and no financial details were available.

A MorganStanley spokesman declined to comment. The talks are aimed at either buying abrokerage to get their seat on the stock exchange or to buy a seat from anexisting brokerage, one of the sources said.

A fullbroking license would allow the firm to cover the secondary side of sales andtrading as well as research, the source added.

Citigroupbought Indonesian brokerage Republik last year and this year added bankers andanalysts, including veteran analyst Ferry Wong from Macquarie as its new headof research.

Citi wasnot in the top five for underwriting Indonesian equity deals last year but thisyear has surged up the league table to rank second among global banks, behindDeutsche.

Reuters

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Toyota to build new factory in Indonesia-Nikkei

2011-09-09T03:48:00.005+07:00

Reuters, Sept9, 2011

(Reuters) -Toyota Motor Corp plans to spend nearly 30 billion yen($387.8 million) to buildan assembly plant in Indonesia that it hopes to launch in the first half of2013, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The plancalls for nearly doubling the firm's capacity in that country to about 200,000vehicles a year, the paper said.

Thedecision comes after three years of holding off judgement on any plantconstruction in Japan and abroad, said the business daily.

Japan'sleading carmaker seeks to maintain its lead in Indonesia, which is set tobecome Southeast Asia's largest auto market, the Nikkei said.

The newfacility will be built adjacent to its existing factory in the Jakarta suburbsof Karawang and is expected to assemble three subcompact models, including alow-priced strategic vehicle under development for that country, the paperreported.

Last year,auto sales in Indonesia was around 750,000 units, approaching Thailand'sroughly 800,000, with the number seen exceeding 1 million units in the comingyears, the paper said.

Toyotacontrols about 60 percent of the Indonesian market when contributions by groupfirms such as Daihatsu Motor Co are included. But as competition grows withNissan Motor and Suzuki Motor announcing plans to boost output, Toyota aims toimprove cost competitiveness through increased local production, the Nikkeireported.

(Reportingby Sumit Jha in Bangalore;Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Freeport familiarizing Jayapura schoolers with environmental awareness

2011-09-08T02:34:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Thu, September 8 2011

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Jayapura,Papua (ANTARA News) - PT Freeport Indonesia in cooperation with the JayapuraCity administration is conducting a program to familiarize local primary andsecondary school students with environment-related subjects under the theme"Towards Environmentally Aware Schools."

The head ofthe PT Freeport Indonesia representative office, Anthon Raharusun, said hereWednesday the program was a manifestation of the company`s constant attentionto the environment and part of its efforts to work in partnership with localstakeholders.

"Wehave been doing a lot of cooperation with various parties as well as localadministrations and private sectors, not only in Papua but also throughoutIndonesia, especially in terms of environmental problems. Because PT FreeportIndonesia is concerned about the environment," he said.

He alsohoped the cooperation with the Jayapura city administration can be donecontinuously in the future, not just familiarization for schools but also forregional task force units.

"Allparties who wish to conserve the environment can cooperate with Freeport,"he said.

The supervisorfor environmental awareness and education of PT Freeport, Jimmy Rumainum, saidthe environmental awareness familiarization program for primary and junior highschool students was also aimed at creating an environment-based school (locallynamed Adiwiyata).

"Theactivity itself in Jayapura city is still in its early stage but in Mimikadistrict and several other areas in Papua it was in an advanced stage. In fact,in Mimika there is already an Adiwiyata school," he said.

Meanwhile,the vice mayor of Jayapura city, Nur Alam, on behalf of the city administrationwelcomed the concept of cooperation and initiatives offered by PT FreeportIndonesia.

Moreover,the administration has outlined the Five-Year Development Program (2011-2016)of Jayapura City, among others, the Clean and Beautiful City, and Lighting theCity in the night.

"Manythings can be supported by PT Freeport as a world class company. We hope theactivities that give positive values such as this can become a sustainableprogram," he said.

TheFreeport program is highly synergistic with Jayapura city administration`s workprogram, so it can join hands to save the environment in Jayapura cityarea," he added.

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

French Miner Eramet to Invest $450m in Halmahera Nickel Project

2011-09-07T21:32:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, CameliaPasandaran, September 07, 2011

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In a moveexpected to give eastern Indonesia an economic boost, a French mining groupplans to invest in a nickel mining project in North Malaku.

“Erametwill have spent around $450 million on this project before the final investmentdecision,” Eramet’s chairman and chief executive officer, Patrick Buffet, saidon Wednesday after meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The $450million is part of the first phase of a $6 billion investment that woulddevelop a nickel and cobalt mine as well as a processing plant on NorthMalaku’s Halmahera Island, he said.

He addedthat Eramet would provide a complete investment plan for the project by the endof 2012 after settling permits and agreements on key issues with the Indonesiangovernment.

After thefirst phase is complete, the Weda Bay Nickel project is expected to produce35,000 tons of nickel a year. After the second phase, that should increase to65,000 tons. Buffet said the project could employ about 6,000 people.

It willinclude the development of several mining centers in Halmahera, ahydro-metallurgical plant and facilities that provide electricity, watertreatment and other basic infrastructure like roads and housing.

HattaRajasa, the coordinating minister for the economy, said the president welcomedthe plan.

“This isone of the biggest investments in eastern Indonesia and will support thegovernment’s Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia’sEcono mic Growth,” Hatta said.

EnergyMinister Darwin Zahedy Saleh said the project should be completed by 2015.

Eramet hasmining operations in New Caledonia for nickel and in Gabon for manganese.

Weda BayNickel is a joint venture with Japanese trading house Mitsubishi and Indonesianstate-owned miner Aneka Tambang, commonly known as Antam.

Erametholds a stake of 54 percent, Antam 10 percent and Mitsubishi the remainder.

Pertamina Flags $40b Investment in Riau Gas Project

2011-09-05T22:13:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, RirinRadiawati Kusuma, September 05, 2011

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State oiland gas company Pertamina and its partners expect to spend up to $40 billion todevelop a gas block in western Indonesia, a company official said on Monday.

MuhammadHusen, director of upstream business at Pertamina, said the huge cost wouldinclude investment for exploration, exploitation and gas transportation system.

“The $40billion cost is the original budget. It can be increased or reduced,” Husentold reporters on Monday.

The EastNatuna block in Riau Islands contains about 200 trillion cubic feet of gas andwould be the largest gas reserve in Indonesia, according to US oil giant ExxonMobil. But only 45 trillion cubic feet can be taken because extracting theremainder, with its high carbon content, would be too costly.

Pertaminawill cooperate with three other oil and gas companies: Malaysia’s PetronasCarigali, France Total E&P Indonesie and US ExxonMobil Indonesia.

Divvying upthe composition of the stakes in the gas block has not been decided. Husen saidlast month that the ownership stake is expected to be determined in October andthe production-sharing contract will be signed on Oct. 28.

A PSCtypically stipulates the sharing of revenue between the companies and thegovernment. It also sets tax incentives, tax obligation and cost recovery.

It was notclear whether this East Natuna gas block would be the biggest investment inIndonesia’s oil and gas history.

The EastNatuna gas block will require advanced technology to extract natural gas. Lastmonth, Husen said Pertamina and its partners were confident that they haveenough expertise and technology to harvest gas from the block.

Totalinvestment to develop the Masela block in Timor Sea and to build the LNGfloating terminal is estimated at $19.7 billion upon completion in 2016.

The cost todevelop the East Natuna project may be less than the estimated budget, at about$20 billion, Husen said.

“The $20 billioncost is our calculation for using the gas pipeline to deliver the gas,” Husensaid. The cost will rise should the delivery system to channel the gas beprocessed by the LNG plant, he said, though that may depend on the government’sobjective.

The consortium,Husen added, has several possible plans for Natuna, including delivering gasthrough a pipeline to Sumatra and Java. Some of the gas will be sold toMalaysia, he said.

Ministry vows to speed up issuance of geothermal project permits

2011-09-05T15:51:00.003+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 09/05/2011

TheForestry Ministry promised that they would comply with instructions fromPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to speed up the issuance of permits forgeothermal projects based in forest areas.

“When the[permit] requirements are completed, we guarantee that it will take no longerthan three months for the geothermal permit to be issued,” Forestry MinisterZulkifi Hasan said on Monday, as reported by kompas.com.

He addedthat he had ordered his ministry officials to speed up the process in issuingpermits.

Accordingto Zulkifli, several companies have already proposed investments in geothermalprojects.

“Many haveproposed [projects],” he said, adding that he has signed several projectpermits already.

Ministry eyes desalination technology to mitigate potential water crisis

2011-09-04T20:05:00.000+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Sun, 09/04/2011

TheMaritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has developed sea water desalinationtechnology to convert sea water into fresh water to cope with the possibilityof a water crisis.

“Making mineralwater from the sea is a strategic step in anticipating the possibility of aclean water crisis in the future,” Maritime Affairs and Fisheries MinisterFadel Muhammad said on Saturday, as reported by kompas.com.

Thedesalinated water could be a pivotal shift in fresh water supplies. The processcould also produce salt.

Accordingto the ministry, Indonesia has several potential locations where thistechnology could be developed. The areas include Nusa Penida and Gondol inBali, Lombok Strait in West Nusa Tenggara, Biak Island in Papua and PelabuhanRatu in West Java.

Around 70percent, or 5.8 million kilometers, of Indonesian territory is comprised ofwater.

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Japan just beginning to tap into high potential for geothermal power generation

2011-09-04T16:01:00.001+07:00

Mainichi Japan, September 3, 2011

Kuju Kanko Hotel President Yoshiaki Koike stands next to the Kuju
Geothermal Power Plant, with the hotel in the background, in the Oita
Prefecture town of Kokonoe. (Mainichi)

Thepresident of Kuju Kanko Hotel, Yoshiaki Koike, is also the manager of the KujuGeothermal Power Plant.

Located atthe foot of Mt. Kuroiwa in Aso-Kuju National Park in Oita Prefecture, the planthas a power output of 990 kilowatts, producing enough electricity to power thehotel and have some left over to sell to a private electrical supply company.

Koike tookan interest in the geothermal power business in the early 1990s when he saw theamount of steam pouring out of a well for hot springs that were drilled in thearea. Two wells -- 350 and 405 meters deep respectively -- were dug up for thepower station, into which Koike invested 200 million yen in equipment includinggenerators and cooling towers. Plant operations began in 1998.

AlthoughKoike had hoped the plant would "kill two birds with one stone" bysaving electricity costs and increasing hotel publicity, he had not expectedthe selling price of electricity to be so low. The electricity produced at Kujuwould have to be sold at 16 yen per 1 kilowatt per hour of electricity to beprofitable, but the going rate is a mere several yen. Koike would not be ableto turn a profit if the plant hadn't given the hotel the reputation of beingeco-friendly. Needless to say, he's eager to see what will happen toelectricity prices once a feed-in tariff is adopted next July.

About a15-minute drive west from Mt. Kuroiwa is the Hacchobaru Geothermal Power Plant.It is the biggest plant of its kind, costing 37 billion yen to build andgenerating 110,000 kilowatts of electrical power with its two generators. Hotwater and steam retrieved from a well that has been dug about 2,000 to 2,500meters underground to a geothermal reservoir heated by magma power the plant'sturbines.

Locatedadjacent to the main geothermal power plant is Japan's only geothermal binarypower plant. Standard geothermal plants require steam and water at temperaturesof 150 degrees Celsius or higher to function. However, because binary plantsuse pentane, an organic solvent that evaporates more easily than water with aboiling point of 36 degrees Celsius, they can be used in locations whereextremely hot water and steam are unavailable. Japan's sole binary plant, whichbegan its operations in 2006, has a relatively small power output of 2,000kilowatts, but Kyushu Electric Power Co. officials anticipate that such plantswill make the local production and consumption of energy possible.

Theestimated geothermal power-generation capacity of volcano-dotted Japan is about23.47 million kilowatts, the world's third highest behind the U.S. andIndonesia. Furthermore, Fuji Electric Co., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.,and Toshiba Corp. comprise 70 percent of the world's share in geothermal powergenerators. Compared to solar-power and wind-power generation, which are easilyaffected by the weather, geothermal power plants have a consistently highoperation ratio of around 70 percent.

Of theareas in Japan with abundant geothermal resources, 80 percent were designatedas national parks or quasi-national parks prohibiting development, and many arelocated adjacent to hot spring resorts. A power industry insider says thatlocal businesses strongly oppose the construction of geothermal power plants,citing fears that their hot springs will dry up. This explains why, despitefavorable conditions for geothermal power generation in Japan, the country's 17geothermal plants produce a mere 535,000 kilowatts total per year, or just 0.3percent of all the electricity produced nationwide every year.

To addressthis conundrum, the government last June eased restrictions on development innational and quasi-national parks. Developers are now permitted to tap intogeothermal resources underground if they drill diagonally into the ground fromoutside national and quasi-national parks, or take other steps to preserve theparks' landscapes.

Usingdiagonal-digging technology, Mitsubishi Materials Corp. and Tohoku ElectricPower Co. in July began probing for geothermal resources belowTowada-Hachimantai National Park, located next to Sumikawa Geothermal PowerPlant in the Akita Prefecture city of Kazuno. According to a senior official atthe Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, there is growing momentum amongprivate companies in the renewable energy business to create an"All-Japan" company dedicated to the development of geothermal power.

Click here for the original Japanese story

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Siam Cement Eyes $1.1 Billion in Indonesian Acquisitions

2011-08-30T15:37:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, August 30, 2011

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Bangkok.Thailand's top industrial conglomerate, Siam Cement Pcl, will bid for twoIndonesian petrochemical assets worth an estimated $1.1 billion, the companysaid on Tuesday, as part of a Southeast Asia expansion drive.

The dealsare set to be another indication of increasing foreign interest in SoutheastAsia's biggest economy, which is attracting investors because of strongeconomic growth and a buoyant stock market.

SiamCement, 30-percent owned by the Thai royal family's Crown Property Bureau, saidit was interested in PT Sulfindo Adiusaha, an Indonesian chemical producercontrolled by Indonesia's Tanojo family.

SouthKorea's Hanwha Chemical Corp may also bid for Sulfindo Adiusaha, sources withknowledge of the deal said recently.

Sulfindo'sowners, the Tanojo-controlled Victoria Group, are seeking to sell the wholecompany for about $700 million. Separately, Singapore state investor TemasekHoldings Pte Ltd is trying to sell its 23 percent stake in PT Chandra AsriPetrochemical Tbk in a deal worth an estimated $400 million, two sources withdirect knowledge of the deal told Reuters recently.

"Weare interested in both petrochemical firms in Indonesia...details of the dealscannot be disclosed at this point because they are quite big deals," SiamCement Chief Executive Kan Trakulhoon told reporters on Tuesday.

Thailand'stop energy firm, state-controlled PTT Pcl is also keen to buy a stake inChandra Asri, an industry source said last week, possibly through its PTTChemical Pcl unit.

Siam Cementand PTT group have aggressively scouted for opportunities for assets overseas,especially in Southeast Asia.

Reuters

China to Invest Rp 22t in W. Sulawesi: Governor

2011-08-28T16:32:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, August 28, 2011

Mamuju,West Sulawesi. China plans to invest Rp 22 trillion ($2.57 billion) in a numberof projects in West Sulawesi, Governor H. Anwar Adnan Saleh said.

“Thank God,West Sulawesi is the only province in Indonesia to receive an investment of Rp22 trillion from the Chinese government. In the not-so-distant future theinvestment will be realized. Hopefully, the investment will enable WestSulawesi to make progress and put it on par with other provinces,” he said onSaturday.

Anwar, whowas elected governor of the province in 2006, is seeking re-election inOctober.

He saidpart of the investment would be used to build one of the biggest hydropowerplants in Asia, which is expected to supply power to the entire island.

“Thehydropower plant will be built in Bonehau sub-district, Mamuju district. Thepresence of this electrical energy source will be a special pride for thepeople of West Sulawesi because this region will be free from energy crisis,”he said.

Antara

Firm earmarks $655m to expand five airports

2011-08-26T13:25:00.000+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 08/26/2011

Stateairport operator PT Angkasa Pura I (AP I) has allocated Rp 5.6 trillion(US$655.2 million) to expand five airports in Bali, East Kalimantan, East Java,Yogyakarta and South Kalimantan, the company’s spokesman said.

Companypublic relations manager, Merpin Butarbutar, said in Jakarta on Thursday thatAP I would upgrade the five exports into world-class airports, with “airportcity” concepts, equipped with hotels and shopping centers, by 2013.

“Almost allairports operated by AP I are currently over capacity. AP I will prioritize theexpansion of passenger and logistic terminals to enhance our services as wellas revenues,” Merpin said.

The fiveairports include the Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar, Bali; SepingganInternational Airport in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan; Juanda InternationalAirport in East Java and Adisutjipto International Airport in Yogyakarta.

In additionto the five airports, the company also operates another eight airports, most ofwhich are located in eastern areas of Indonesia.

The totalnumber of passengers at the 13 airports rose by an average of 11 percent, from41 million in 2009 to 49 million in 2010, Merpin said.

He pointedout the Ngurah Rai airport in Bali served more than 11 million passengers in2010, a figure far higher than the 7.5 million passengers the airport couldideally handle.

Ngurah RaiInternational Airport, which contributes the most to AP I’s revenues, iscurrently undergoing renovations to upgrade its capacity to be able to handle25 million passengers a year, while expansion projects for the remaining fourairports are expected to begin soon.

Accordingto an earlier report, under the planned expansion, AP I will exchange thedomestic and international terminals at Ngurah Rai airport in order to cope withan increase in international passengers.

The newinternational terminal will be expanded to cover an area of 120,000 squaremeters.

The companyalso plans to build a 39,000-square-meter, three-story car park, which willhave room to accommodate up to 1,500 vehicles.

The NgurahRai airport expansion will use Rp 1.94 trillion of the total budget — thehighest amount among the five airports — while the expansion of Sepingganairport in Balikpapan will require Rp 1.56 trillion.

The companywill use internal funds and bank loans to finance the projects, Merpin added.

As part ofits expansion plans, he continued, AP I has established subsidiaries in foursectors: hotels, property, logistics and services, with a total investment ofRp 100 billion, to boost its non-aeronautical revenue.

“We expectthe establishment of the new subsidiaries to boost the contribution of our‘non-aero’ businesses to our total revenue to 60 percent by 2020, from 22percent in 2010,” he said. AP I also recently launched its new logo in Bali,hoping to refresh its company’s image.

The newlogo, worth more than Rp 200 million, depicts two hands of two different colors— green and blue — shaking each other, which “symbolize humane service, as wellas safety and security, two key elements in the airport business,” Merpin said.(swd)

W. Sumatra to build 5 geothermal power plants

2011-08-26T13:11:00.000+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Fri, 08/26/2011

WestSumatra administration has announced plans to construct five geothermal powerplants in its 2011-2015 development plan.

Theconstruction projects would be fully financed by the central government, WestSumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno said Friday in Padang.

Irwan addedthat his administration planned to build one power plant every year so that thefive plants would be ready by 2015.

The administrationalso plans to build another 25 biomass power plants that will utilize urban andrural waste for energy production.

Irwan saidhis administration planned to build the five biomass power plants gradually.The construction of these plants would also rely on funding from the centralgovernment, he said.

Meanwhile,the administration also plans to develop 3,000 small-sized solar plants and 10micro-hydro power plants using funding from the state budget, over the samedevelopment period.

PLN to build hydropower plant in Wamena

2011-08-17T13:47:00.001+07:00

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

Stateelectricity firm PT PLN has disclosed a plan to build a 50 megawatt hydropowerplant (PLTA) in Wamena, Papua.

“Wamena isan 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 onTuesday evening as quoted by kompas.com.

Dahlan saidthe construction would start next year and was expected to be completed in fiveor six years.

He addedthat the project would cost Rp 3 trillion (US$351 million) in total, and thatPLN would first use internal funds to finance the project before seekingthird-party support.

Dahlan saidPLN was planning to build another hydropower plant with the same capacity inWamena after the completion of the first project.

General Motors to Invest $150m in Indonesia Plant

2011-08-12T21:24:00.013+07:00

Jakarta Globe, August 12, 2011

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Detroit.General Motors Co said on Friday it will invest $150 million to reactivate aplant in Indonesia to build a “people mover” van for Southeast Asia.

The No. 1U.S. automaker said the Bekasi plant in West Java, Indonesia, will beginproduction of the vehicle in 2013 and build 40,000 of the vans a year,ultimately creating more than 800 jobs.

GM, whichsaid it will add new manufacturing equipment at the plant, did not disclosefurther details about the vehicle, including its name, design specifications orpricing.

GM said theIndonesia plant will mean an expansion of GM’s dealer network in that countryand it will join with its Rayong, Thailand, and Hanoi plants to support growthin the region.

Last year,GM’s sales in Indonesia rose 72 percent to 4,500 vehicles. They were up 18percent in the first six months of 2011.

Reuters

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City Administration to Turn Trash Into Power at Three New Facilities

2011-08-11T15:29:00.005+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Dofa Fasila| August 11, 2011

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The Jakartaadministration is planning to build three treatment centers that will use wasteto generate energy, Governor Fauzi Bowo said on Wednesday.

“What wewant is to turn waste to energy, and this process has already begun,” Fauzisaid.

The CakungCilincing intermediate treatment facility in North Jakarta, which beganoperating on Aug. 1., uses mechanical and biological technology to recycleinorganic waste and to ferment organic waste to produce gas that can be used asfuel. After processing, the waste is then sent to a landfill.

Thetreatment center will be able to process 400 tons of waste daily until the endof the year and 600 tons daily from January. It will reach its full capacity of1,300 tons in July next year, he said.

Whenrunning at full capacity, the Cakung Cilincing ITF will be able to produce 4.95megawatts of electricity, or 445,669 million metric British thermal units ofgas fuel.

Fauzi saidthat the two other intermediate treatment facilities, would be built in Sunterand Marunda, both in North Jakarta, before the end of the year.

Theexisting Sunter waste facility, which sits on five hectares of land, will beupgraded into an ITF, Fauzi said.

“We aregoing to enhance the technology at the Sunter processing station into an ITF,”Fauzi said. “The city sanitation office will cooperate with private sectorcompanies interested in investing.”

The SunterITF, Fauzi said, would use technology based on an incinerator that would becapable of reducing the volume of waste by 90 percent, producing a large amountof electricity and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

EkoBharuna, head of the Jakarta Sanitation Office, said the Sunter project wouldbe tendered in September.

“We areinvolving the private sector under a build, own, operate and transferarrangement,” Eko said. “We have chosen this option so as not to burden theregional budget.”

“Besidesbuilding the various intermediate waste processing facilities that are capableof handling large amounts of waste, the city administration will also developreuse, reduce, and recycle centers [Sentra 3R] in Jakarta’s fivemunicipalities,” Fauzi said.

“In thefuture, all regional developers will have to build their own waste processingfacilities,” he added.

He saidthat several developers, including Pantai Indah Kapuk, had already agreed tobuild 3R centers in their estates. Pantai Kapuk Indah’s 3R center would useintegrated dry anaerobic digestion and composting technology and would be builtin cooperation with a private investor and the Tsu Chi Buddhist Foundation, hesaid.

“The wasteat PIK will be processed into electricity and compost,” Fauzi said. “The maindifference with the ITF is that the 3R center will have a much smallercapacity, of around 250 tons.”

Another 3Rcenter planned for Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, will be built with theassistance of the Public Works Office’s environmental sanitation unit, he said.

Fauzi addedthat the city administration would not go ahead with a plan to build anintegrated waste processing plant in Ciangir, in Legok district, Tangerang. Thedecision came after Tangerang authorities zoned the Ciangir area forresidential purposes.

The cityhad purchased an area of 96 hectares in Ciangir and an environmental impactstudy was conducted in 1999.

Fauzi saidthat while the Tangerang administration had proposed a land swap, suggesting anarea in Jatiwangi, closer to Jakarta, the city authorities preferred to developthe Ciangir land into residential estate in line with the new zoningrequirements.

With theCiangir ITF center scrapped, he said, the city would now have to rely on thethree planned ITFs.

“With thesethree ITFs and the Bantar Gebang landfill, Jakarta’s waste problem will besolved for the next decade, as their cumulative processing capacity will bemore than 8,000 tons per day,” he said.

Operations Begin for New Bali Plant To Purify Sewage Into Usable Water

2011-08-11T15:22:00.004+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, August 11, 2011

Denpasar.Bali officially began operations at a water purification facility on Wednesdaythat turns treated sewage into clean, usable water.

“TheBalinese people are worried about predictions that the island will suffer froma water crisis in 2015,” provincial regional secretary Made Jendra said at theplant’s opening. “This, at least, will be alleviated by the operation of thisfacility.”

Jendra saidthe treatment plant, which was a joint project of the central government,Denpasar administration, Badung district government and Japan InternationalCooperation Agency, would be able to produce 9,000 cubic meters of clean waterevery day, or more than 100 liters per second.

While thatfigure was far from the estimated 1,500 liters per second needed to avert awater crisis in 2015, he said clean water production would hopefully growfurther with the completion of a sewage network project.

GoroYasuda, director for overseas projects at Japan’s Ministry of Land,Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism, said Bali would face a water crisisby 2015 because “the need for clean water vastly exceeds the capacity of theregional water company.”

Dewa PuniaAsa, head of Bali’s public works office, said that so far only 8,647 householdsin Denpasar and Badung districts were linked to the first phase of the DenpasarSewage Development Project. Those households are estimated to produce about22,000 cubic meters of liquid waste a day.

A secondphase, expected to be completed in 2014, is targeting 7,200 new connections,mostly hotels and restaurants in the tourist areas of Sanur, Kuta, Legian andSeminyak.

Tjok BagusBudiana, who heads the province’s sewage management service, said the facilitywas designed to process as much as 51,000 cubic meters of liquid waste per day.It is built on a 17.5 hectare plot, 2.5 hectares of which is reserved forreservoirs to hold liquid waste.

He saidhouseholds had to pay a monthly fee of Rp 15,000 to Rp 25,000 ($1.75 to $2.90)to be connected to the network. The fee, he added, would be higher forparticipating businesses.

Procter & Gamble to build first plant in Indonesia

2011-08-10T20:50:00.004+07:00

Antara News, Wed, August 10 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARANews) - Procter & Gamble will invest up to US$100 million to build itsfirst plant in Indonesia in Karawang, West Java, P&G Home Product IndonesiaExternal Relations Manager, Junita Kartikasari said.

The fastmoving consumer goods producing plant (PMCG) will be completed with modernfacilities to produce baby diapers Pampers, she said.

She said itwould be the first plant in Indonesia that will recieve a "Leadership inEnergy and Environmental Design (LEED)" certificate.

LEED is asystem of international certification issued by the US Environment-FriendlyConstruction Council.

Thecertificate is given to buildings that meet environmental criteria. P&G hasearlier announced that all of its new facilities would be LEED-certified.

PGHPpresident director Mohamed Ismail at the laying of a corner stone of the plantsaid Indonesia is an important market for baby treatment industry.

Theceremony was also attended by industry minister MS Hidayat who expressed hopeon the occasion that the new plant would spur national FMCG industrial growth.

He said thegovernment fully supported the construction of the plant which shows thatbusiness opportunity in Indonesia is wide open.

Mohamedsaid six of 11 countries with the biggest baby population are in Asia.Indonesia is one of them with 17 million babies aged under 48 months.

"A lotof babies I think would need correct treatment especially when their parentshave to adapt to a modern life style. At the time practical, healthy andtrusted will be badly needed," he said.

The plantwill take around two years to construct before it could fully operate.

In the nextfive years P&G expects demand for baby diapers in the country would reacharound eight millions. The plant is expected to create around 400 jobs.

P&Ghopes its products would reach hospitals and midwives. Its products at presentare consumed by around 4.4 billion people in the world such as Pampers, Tide,Ariel, Always, Whisper, Pantene, Mach3, Bounty, Dawn, Fairy, Gain, Pringels,Charmin, Downy, Iams, Crest, Oral-B, Duracell, Olay, Head&Shpulders, Wella,Gillette, Braun, Fusion, Ace, Febreze and Ambi Pur.

P&G isoperating in 80 countries and its producs could be found in more than 180countries.

Editor: Priyambodo RH