President Prabowo Subianto delivers speech at the Jatigede power plant, Sumedang regency, West Java province, Monday (01/20). (Photo by: BPMI)
President Prabowo Subianto Monday (01/20) launched 37 strategic electricity projects related to the construction of 26 power plants with a total capacity of 3.2 gigawatts and eleven transmission networks and substations in eighteen provinces in the Jatigede Hydroelectric Power Plant, Sumedang regency, West Java province.
“This is clearly the work of the entire Indonesian people, the hard work of our countrymen across institutions and agencies,” President Subianto said.
Such infrastructure, the President continued, is an important foundation to support economic transformation towards an industrial country.
“We want to be an advanced, modern country. We aim to improve people’s welfare and eradicate poverty in Indonesia. To achieve that, energy is indispensable. We have abundant natural resources and we now have the ability to carry out the transformation,” he added.
The Head of State also said that the Government plans to stop fuel imports within five years as part of energy independence target, while expressing optimism that Indonesia will become one of the key players in the global energy transformation.
“[Achieving] 100 percent energy self-sufficiency is a must. I believe and am sure that in the next years Indonesia will no longer import fuel,” the President said.
In the meantime, President Director of the state electricity company PT PLN Darmawan Prasodjo said that the project’s success was largely attributed to the Government’s support.
“Every challenge—including permit, land acquisition, and investment—can be resolved quickly. We received extraordinary support from the Red and White Cabinet,” Darmawan said.
For the record, the construction of the Jatigede Hydroelectric Power Plant has been initiated since the era of President Soekarno in 1963 with groundbreaking carried out in 2015.
In addition to the power plant, the project also includes the construction of a transmission network of 739.71 circuit kilometers and substations with a capacity of 1,740 megavolt amperes. (BPMI Presidential Secretariat/ABD) (GWH/RAS/EP)
