By NNN-Antara
Jakarta : Indonesia has asked the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the extension of its loans for a number of hydro-powered plant (PLTA) projects with a total value of US$7.5 million.
“Indonesia has asked that the ADB loans, which would have been ended in 2008, be extended until 2011,” RM Dewo Broto Joko of the National Development Planning Board (Beppenas) said here on Sunday.
He said that the ADB was considering to approve the request because the projects were utilizing renewable energies and were part of the clean development mechanism (CDM).
Dewo Broto Joko said that Indonesia had asked for the extension because there had been delays in the implementation of the renewable energy development (RED) projects.
He cited as an example the Poigar PLTA project in North Sulawesi whose construction had been delayed because the land acquisition and resettlement plan (LARP) for the project had not yet been completed.
The Bapennas official said that the Genyem PLTA project in Papua province had also been delayed because the local government was asking for a portion of share-ownership in the PLTA project and no agreement about it had been reached so far.
“There were still a large number of ADB-financed PLTA projects in West Kalimantan, Gorontalo, Lombok and Flores, for which we are asking extension from the bank,” he added.