Jakarta. In a bid to complete its 35,000 MW electricity program, government has targeted to finish building 46,000 kilometers of electric transmission in four years. Vice President Jusuf Kalla stated this in a meeting on the construction of electric transmission towers held at his office, today.
In the meeting, the Vice President underscored that the project must use local content with the state-owned electricity firm PLN’s standards, apply prices as defined by the government, and involve local contractors in the constuction project.
He said that building transmissions is of the main concerns in the electricity program.
“Analogous to a housing complex, transmission is the road to the housing. It must be existing prior to the electricity itself,” he affirmed.
Industry Minister Saleh Husin who was also present in the meeting reported to the Vice President that the pricing for the transmission construction has been agreed by the Ministry of Industry, the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), PLN, and PT Krakatau Steel.
“We have prepared the draft regulation in a form of an Industry Ministry regulation,” said the minister.
In the meantime, PLN CEO Sofyan Basir said his company will have completed the construction of electric transmission 18,000 kiometers in length by the end of this year, and will finish the remaining towers required in about three years.
“There are also 40 local contractors involved in the proect,” he said, adding that the price of steel used for the project, provided by PT Krakatau Steel, is also 30 % cheaper than the one used in previous projects.
Also attending the meeting were the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution, Minister of State-owned Enterprises Rini Soemarno, BPKP chairman Ardan Adiperdana, Head of Vice President’s Secretariat Mohamad Oemar, and the Vice President’s expert staff Sofjan Wanandi.
