YTL Power to build RM11.6bil coal-fired plant in Java

The PT Jawa Power generation plant

KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Power International Bhd is embarking on a US$2.7bil (RM11.6bil) 1,320MW coal-fired power plant project in Cirebon, West Java - its second investment in Indonesia.

The power generation and water/sewage treatment group said its 80% owned unit, PT Tanjung Jati Power Co Ltd, had on Monday signed a restated and amended power purchase agreement (PPA) - originally entered into on April 2, 1997 - with the republic’s national utility firm PT PLN (Persero).

The PPA includes the construction of a 2 x 660MW coal-fired power generating facility and the sale of the facility’s energy and capacity to PLN.

The PPA will be for a term of 30 years expiring 2051, on the 30th anniversary of the anticipated commercial operation date of the plant.

The Tanjung Jati ‘A’ coal-fired independent power project is YTL Power’s second investment in Indonesia.

YTL Power made its first in 2004 with the purchase of a 35% stake and loan stocks in the 1,220 MW PT Jawa Power project for US$139.4mil (RM599.5mil) plus 100% in PT Powergen Jawa Timur, which operates the coal-fired power station in East Java under a 30-year agreement, for US$3.6mil (RM15.5mil).

YTL Power, an associate company of YTL Corp, currently owns 35% of Jawa Power through its 57.14% YTL Jawa Power Holdings BV.

In May, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo launched Indonesia’s programme to build power plants to produce 35,000 MW of electricity by 2019.

The 35,000MW programme is a leading programme under his 9 Priority Agenda items to realise economic independence by stimulating strategic sectors, particularly energy sovereignty.

YTL Power managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said the company was able to leverage on the experience in running the Jawa Power power plant over the past 11 years to develop the new project.

“The project will utilise state-of-the-art coal fired technology and will be among the most efficient of the new generation of plants in the Indonesian system,” he said,

YTL Power shares gained 3 sen to close at RM1.38 on Tuesday.