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China eyeing power project investments in West Sumatra, Indonesia

China eyeing power project investments in West Sumatra, Indonesia Lake Maninjau crater lake, West Sumatra, Indonesia (source: flickr/ Indrani Soemardjan, creative commons)
Francisco Rojas 4 Aug 2015

JP: "Around 17 geothermal sites are available and can generate up to 1,650 megawatts of power, five of which are run by private company PT Supreme Energy and Hitay Energy from Turkey"

In a a short news brief in the Jakarta Post, it is stated that the Chinese government has expressed interest in investing in renewable energy and infrastructure development in West Sumatra.

“West Sumatra has potential renewable energy resources but they haven’t been optimalized yet due to a lack of infrastructure,” said China’s consul general, Zhu Honghai, as quoted by tempo.co.

According to Honghai, limited infrastructure is a key issue in Indonesia.

During a meeting in Medan, Honghai committed to facilitating hundreds of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to invest in the region, particularly in sectors such as infrastructure development, geothermal energy, basic industry, agriculture and tourism. Several Chinese companies are currently involved in the development of microhydro power plants (PLTMH), road infrastructure and agribusiness.

Commenting on the issue, West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno said that the region had huge potential in geothermal energy. Around 17 geothermal sites are available and can generate up to 1,650 megawatts of power, five of which are run by private company PT Supreme Energy and Hitay Energy from Turkey.

Source: Jakarta Post