KUCHING, March 14: Deputy Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan today led the Sarawak delegation to meet Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.
The meeting was to confirm the Sarawak government’s support for the development of the Mentarang Induk Hydroelectric Project (MIHEP) through the participation of its wholly-owned company, Sarawak Energy, via its joint venture (JV) company, PT Kayan Hydropower Nusantara (PT KHN).
Awang Tengah also expressed Sarawak’s appreciation to the Indonesian government for the continuous support and assistance given to Sarawak Energy and PT KHN over several years of MIHEP’s extensive preparation.
PT KHN was established to support the Indonesian government’s development agenda to supply large-scale sustainable energy from MIHEP to support the Tanah Kuning Green Energy Park.
MIHEP is designed to generate an installed capacity of 1,375 MW from the Mentarang river in the Malinau Regency, North Kalimantan Province.
The meeting and courtesy visit was followed by signing the Heads of Agreement (HoA) between Sarawak Energy, its JV company PT Kayan Patria Pratama (PT KPP), and PT Adaro.
During the HOA, Sarawak Energy was represented by its senior vice president (Business Development) Nick Wright, while PT Kayan Investima Internasional was represented by its president director Gunawan Santosa and PT Kalimantan Energi Hijau by its director Sandy Setiawan.
The HOA will see Sarawak Energy (under Sarawak Energy Services) and PT KPP (under Kayan Investama Internasional) as the shareholders of PT KHN developing a partnership with PT Adaro to take part in the MIHEP development.
The partnership would develop MIHEP as the renewable energy supply to Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia (KIPI) Tanah Kuning, supporting Indonesia’s Renewable Energy-Based Industrial Development (REBID) agenda.
Sarawak’s participation in hydropower development in North Kalimantan builds on its partnership with Indonesian national utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) for Sarawak-West Kalimantan interconnection since 2016.
Sarawak Energy’s experience in large hydropower and REBID in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) is an added advantage in Sarawak’s participation in Tanah Kuning Green Energy Park, strengthening the power development upstream of the industrial park.
Also present among the Sarawak delegation were Minister of Utility and Telecommunication, Datuk Julaihi Narawi; Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Dr Hazland Abang Hipni; and other government officials and representatives from Sarawak Energy. ― DayakDaily
