Indonesia to hold tender for nuclear plant in 2008

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - The Indonesian government will hold a tender in 2008 to select suitable suppliers of nuclear technology and contractors to construct the 15 trillion rupiah (1.66 billion US dollars) power plant in Central Java, a report said recently.

A special body responsible for conducting the tender will be set up next year, as the president plans to issue a decree to serve as the legal basis later this month, reported major national newspaper The Jakarta Post.

The so-called Nuclear Power Implementation Agency would be responsible for preparing the tender and selecting reliable suppliers of safe technology suppliers for the project, which will be able to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, said the English daily.

It will be made up of officials from the National Nuclear Energy Agency (Batan), state power firm PT PLN, the Research and Technology Ministry and the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten).

"We're eyeing companies from the U.S., South Korea, France and Japan, as their technologies meet the standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," Batan spokesman Ferhat Aziz was quoted as saying.

The winner, however, would have to team up with a local company for the development of the plant.

"We estimate that the shareout will be 25 percent for the local- based firm and 75 percent for the foreign company," Ferhat said.

The government is hoping to commence construction of the power plant in 2010, with it expected to come on-stream in 2017.