E. Kalimantan to build nuclear power plant

The East Kalimantan administration plans to build a nuclear power plant in 2016 to meet the electricity needs of several areas of the province, an official has said.

East Kalimantan Governor Awang Faroek Ishak said the administration had allocated adequate funds for feasibility studies for the plant’s construction, which could potentially attract investment from the central government in the 2016 regional budget.

The planned nuclear plant would be built in Talisayan, Berau regency, as outlined in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the East Kalimantan administration and the National Nuclear Energy Agency (Batan) recently, he said.

“The first step is to carry out a feasibility study. Hopefully the central government will allocate funds from the state budget to help construct the plant,” Awang said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.

The governor said part of the study would center on calculating the exact amount of funds needed to build the plant, which would be calculated by administration officials themselves.

Awang added that the project would be a significant contributor to the national energy sector. “The condition was if the central government wanted to exploit East Kalimantan’s fossil fuel potential, they must compensate it by building a nuclear power plant,” he said.

The administration chose Berau as the site of the plant as it was considered “safe”, especially from earthquakes. The area was also said to have wide open spaces and easy access to the sea.


Sumber - The Jakarta Post