President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo graced the inauguration of the new power plant at the Minahasa geothermal power station at North Sulawesi as well as the additional unit at the Lampung power plant in South Sumatra on Tuesday, December 27.
Jokowi was quoted that the new power station units both at Lahendong (power units five and six) and Ulubelo (power unit three) will provide jobs for 2,750 local workers.
President Jokowi was accompanied by First Lady Iriana and an entourage of some ministers, including Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan.
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A subsidiary of state-controlled energy, state oil and gas company Pertamina, Pertamina Geothermal Energy spent a total of US$532 million on the additional power plant units at both Lahendong and Ulubelu power stations.
The additional units at the Lahendong power plant with a 20-megawatt capacity will be able to provide electricity for another 240,000 households in Minahasa, while the additional unity at the Ulubelu power plant with a 55-megawatt capacity will be able to supply electricity for an additional 440,000 households.
The newly inaugurated geothermal power plant (PLTP) infrastructure projects are reported to have an estimated worth of US$532.07 million (Rp 6.18 trillion).
Image credit: BeritadAerah