By Romel S. Gurky
Courtesy of Supreme
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) said it signed on January 26 a loan agreement, for project finance, amounting up to approximately US$198 million (JBIC portion), with PT Supreme Energy Muara Laboh (SEML), an Indonesian company invested in by Sumitomo Corp and other entities for Muara Laboh Geothermal Power Project, in West Sumatra Province.
The bank said in a statement on Monday that the loans are co-financed by three private financial institutions, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., as well as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), bringing the total cofinancing amount to approximately $439 million. Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) provides insurance for the portion cofinanced by the private-sector banks, it added.
In this project, SEML will construct, own, and operate a geothermal power plant with a capacity of 80MW in the South Solok Regency in West Sumatra, Indonesia, and will sell electricity generated by this plant to PT PLN (Persero), a state-owned power utility in Indonesia, for a period of 30 years.
This loan supports an overseas infrastructure project in which Japanese company not only participate as investors, but also operate and maintain a power plant over a long period of time, using advanced Japanese technologies. This loan thereby contributes to maintaining and strengthening the international competitiveness of Japanese industries, JBIC said.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak
